The Samurai Kid
by patattack
Summary: This story focuses mostly on my OC Jeremy as he goes through life at Duel Academy with Jaden and the others. Current chapter: Two people come to Academy Island to see Erik at the request of Maximillion Pegasus himself.
1. Jeremy's Beginning Deck

_**Jeremy's Beginning Deck (Subject to change later on)**_

_***Card's effect is changed**_

_****Card isn't real**_

* * *

_**Monster Cards**_

**The Six Samurai Yaichi**

**The Six Samurai Kamon**

**The Six Samurai Yariza**

**The Six Samurai Nisashi**

**The Six Samurai Zanji**

**The Six Samurai Irou**

**Great Shogun Shien**

**Shein's Footsoldier**

**Grandmaster of the Six Samurai**

**Chamberlain of the Six Samurai**

**Spirit of the Six Samurai**

**Hand of the Six Samurai**

**Shadow of the Six Samurai****

Monster Type: Warrior

Attribute: Dark

Lv: 1

Atk: 200

Def: 100

If you have at least one "Six Samurai" monster in your hand, by sending this card from your hand to the graveyard activate one of the following effects:

●Reduce all battle and effect damage inflicted to you to 0 until the end of the turn.

●Special summon one "Six Samurai" monster from hand.

**Marauding Captain**

**Obnoxious Celtic Guardian**

**Vanity's Ruler**

**Storm Shooter**

* * *

**_Magic Cards_**

**Legendary Ebon Steed**

**Shein's Castle of Mist**

**Six Samurai United***

Spell-Type: Continuous

Each time a "Six Samurai" monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned, place 1 Bushido Counter on this card. You can send this card to the Graveyard to draw 1 card for each Bushido Counter on this card.

**Six Scrolls of the Samurai**

**Monster Reborn**

**Card of Sanctity***

Spell-Type: Normal

Both you and your opponent draw cards from your decks until you each hold six cards in your hands.

**Book of Moon**

**Fissure**

**Mage Power**

**United We Stand**

**Spell Textbook****

Spell Type: Quick-Play

Send all the cards in your hand to the graveyard and draw one card. If it's a magic card, you can activate it immediately, if not send it to the graveyard.

**Pot of Greed**

**Card Destruction**

**Allied Forces**

**Trap Cards**

**Return of the Six Samurai**

**Swift Samurai Storm**

**Swiftstrike Armor**

**Double-Edged Sword Technique**

**Spirit Barrier**

**Ultimate Offering**

**The Paths of Destiny**

**Nutrient Z**

**Bad Reaction to Simochi**

**Negate Attack

* * *

**

I only put the effects for the cards that don't exist or that the effect is changed. If you want to know the effect of the other cards, you can either wait for later chapters, or look on the Internet. Also, Shadow of the Six Samurai is a card I made up.


	2. Jeremy Meet Jaden

I don't own Yugioh GX (just like everybody else that writes on this site). I don't know what else I should write here, so whatever.

Note: Life points show at the beginning of the duel and when they change for the affected character(s). When monsters are summoned, you see the points of whatever mode they're in. If their stats change, it only shows the stats affected.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Jeremy Meet Jaden**

He was fast asleep on his bed, dreaming about Duel Academy. He was supposed to go to the entrance exam in the morning. "Jeremy," the examiner said. "Jeremy," he said louder, "JEREMY WAKE UP!" He then fell out of his bed and onto the floor.

"What? I didn't fail the exam did I?"

"No, not yet." Jeremy got up off the floor and took notice that he was in his bedroom.

"Good morning dad. What do you mean, not yet?"

"Why don't you look at the time to find out?" He turned towards his bedside table to look at an alarm clock, which happened to be a little battered from being hit on the top. Squinting at the digits, he finally realized what time it was.

"HOLY SHIT! How could I have slept in this late? Especially since it's the entrance exams in half an hour."

"Maybe it had something to do with the fact that you stayed up so late arranging and rearranging your deck to prepare for the exam. Anyway, you should get dressed and come downstairs to have a quick bite of breakfast. Then your mother can drive you to wherever it is you have to go."

"But I'm already dressed." Though this was true, his clothes looked as if he had slept in them, which in fact he had.

"Yeah, but if your mother sees you wearing stuff like that, she'll probably dress you herself."

Preferring to wear clothes of his own choosing, Jeremy quickly shooed his father out of his room while he put on a white and light blue colored t-shirt, a pair of deep blue jeans and his black sneakers. Sparing a glance at the mirror, he quickly studied his reflection. He was about 5 feet 9, had short blonde hair that dropped a little in front of his face, brown eyes and was quite fit. He then picked up his deck in its case and attached it to his belt. Then he checked his backpack to make sure he had his duel disk as well as everything else he needed. Instead of taking the stairs, he sat on the ramp and slid down, passing within a few feet of his mother.

"Jeremy, how many times have I told you not to do that?''

"Ummm, I don't know mom. I think I lost count after the 10th time,'' he said, smiling broadly.

"Alright. Now sit down and have a quick bite before I drive you to the exams. Jeremy sat down and began wolfing down pancakes his father had made.

"You know what dear?'' the woman asked her husband. "I agree that it's normal for him to look like you and act a little like you, but having him eat like you? That's just… gross.''

"Well you know what they say, like father, like son.'' Soon Jeremy finished eating, though it took him a very short time to do so.

"All done. Now can we get going?''

"Sure thing Jeremy. Just hop in the car and let's go,'' his mother said.

"Bye son. Good luck.''

"Thanks dad. But I don't need luck when I've got my deck with me.''

"I meant for getting there on time.''

"Oh ok. Thanks anyways.''

* * *

Finally after a long drive, they arrived at the building where the exams for Duel Academy were. "Thanks for the drive mom.''

"No problem. Just go out there and do your best.'' He then jumped out of the car, gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off to the entrance.

As he got nearer, he crashed into something that knocked him to the ground. Quickly getting up, he saw a young boy about the same age getting up beside him. "Sorry about that.''

"Don't worry about it. Hey, are you going to the exams too?''

"Yup. I sure am.''

"Sweet, my name's Jaden. Jaden Yuki.''

"I'm Jeremy.'' They both got to door where a guard was standing.

"If you two had arrived a minute later we might not have let you in.''

"Then it's a good thing we didn't,'' they both said before running into the building. They arrived at the arena just as a student in white was finishing his duel against one of the examiners.

"I activate Ring of Destruction.''

"A trap card!''

"Yes, this card can destroy one monster in attack mode and then that monster's attack points are dealt to the both of us as damage.'' A metal ring with grenades appeared and attached itself around the kid's Vorse Raider. The ring exploded and destroyed the monster, causing both duelists to lose 1900 life points.

Kid: 3200-1300

Proctor: 1900-0000

"Good move applicant, you passed. Welcome to the academy.''

"Thank you, O wise proctor.''

* * *

Above in the bleachers, were three boys in blue uniforms. "Hey, that guy is pretty good, don't you think Chazz?'' One of them said to the kid in the middle.

"Maybe he really is a whiz kid,'' the one on his other side said.

"Pah! We went to dueling prep school for the past three years. We'll be ready for duel academy. They won't know what hit them.'' Chazz grinned.

* * *

Jaden smiled when he saw the kid finish his duel. "Wow, that was a great duel.''

"Yeah, he's pretty good. Who is he anyway?''

"That's Bastion Misawa.'' A small kid said beside them. "I heard he scored highest on the written exam.''

"Really? I barely passed.''

"Same here.'' Jeremy nodded.

"I'm Syrus, by the way. Nice to meet you guys. I get so nervous whenever I'm taking a test, I'm surprised I even won my duel.''

Jaden put a hand on Syrus' shoulder. "So you passed. Congratulations! We'll go to the academy together, just as soon as I pass.''

"There's nothing we can't handle,'' Jeremy said, as he put his hand on Syrus' other shoulder.'

"Uh guys, I hate to point this out to you but… That duel was supposed to be the last one.''

"WHAT?''

* * *

In the teachers' area Dr. Crowler was going over the list of students who had passed. "Good. Very good. This has been an excellent year for recruiting.''

The guard that had been at the door walked up to Crowler. "Mr. Crowler, we have a problem. Two late applicants have just arrived and-''

"Don't you go calling me Mr."

"Oh sorry. I'm new here Ms.-''

"I have a PhD in dueling. My title is Dr. thank you very much. Now go tell those two kids that they'll just have to come back next year.''

"Come on Dr. Crowler,'' one of the proctors next to him said. "We've got enough time for them. Why don't we give them a chance? They were only a little late.''

"Too bad for them. They were late and that's that. I don't have time for slackers that can't even-'' Crowler stopped as his phone rang. "Hello. Who's calling me at a time like this?''

"It's Sheppard.''

"Ahh. Chancellor Shepard.'' Crowler's voice was noticeably less harsh.

"Just checking to make sure everything going well. We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened last time, would we? When you refused entrance to a third of the student applicants for some absurd reason. What was it? Calling you Mr., or Ms.? Whatever it was, just give everyone a fair shot.''

"Of course.'' Crowler hung up. "Furry chinned windbag. Alright, it seems that Chancellor Sheppard wants to give them a duel. Now pardon me gentlemen, I'll be right back.''

"But whose going to be their proctor and what exam decks should we use?''

"Don't worry, I'll take care of this.''

* * *

In the mean time, Bastion was sitting down, when Jeremy started to talk to him. "Hey man, that was some awesome dueling back there.''

"Thank you.''

Jaden walked near him. "Yeah. I'd say you're probably the second best duelist here.'' Bastion, Syrus and Jeremy all turned to face Jaden.

"What?''

"_Jaden Yuki, please report to exam field four. Jeremy Wheeler, to exam field six_.''

"It's time to rock. Come on Jeremy.''

"Wait. If I'm the second best, then who's first?'' Bastion asked Jaden.

"That's me of course.'' The two of them went down to their assigned fields, both with an air of certainty around them.

Syrus moaned. "Wow they're really confident. I wish I could be like them.''

* * *

As Jaden stood facing Dr. Crowler, Jeremy was waiting for his opponent to show up. "What gives? I hope they didn't chicken out when they saw me.''

"Who are you calling a chicken?'' Jeremy saw a kid enter the field. He seemed a year older than him, dressed in a blue Jacket with a sneer on his face.

"What are you doing here?''

"I'm you're opponent, dimwit. Name's Erik. One of the top students of Obelisk blue.''

"That's great. I've been looking for a good challenge for some time.''

"Challenge? Hah! This duel won't last three turns.''

"Really? I didn't know you were that bad.''

"Can it you slacker.''

"Chill out dude.''

"Whatever. Now let's duel.'' Jeremy inserted his deck into his duel disk and activated it as his opponent did the same. "Crowler doesn't want you at the academy and neither do I. I'll make sure you fail.'' Erik thought to himself as they both drew five cards.

Jeremy: 4000

Erik: 4000

"I'll go first.''

"Fine with me.''

Erik drew a card and looked at his hand smiling at the cards he held. "I summon Marauding Captain (1200) in attack mode. Now I use his special ability to summon another Marauding Captain in attack mode and thanks to his other ability, you can't attack any other warrior but him.''

Syrus and Bastion's attention was momentarily focused on Jeremy's duel. "This bodes ill for Jeremy.''

"Why is that?'' Syrus asked curiously.

"Since Erik has two Marauding Captains on the field and they're both warrior type monsters, Jeremy's not allowed to make any attacks.''

"That's not good.''

"I end my turn by playing two cards face-down. Your move.''

"I may not be able to attack, but I can still defend. I summon Chamberlain of the Six Samurai (2000) in defense mode and then I'll also play two cards face-down.''

"Your monster may have good defense points, but he won't be able to defend you against my next move. I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards. Then I activate Tribute to the doomed, so by ditching one card in my hand, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field.'' Jeremy's monster was wrapped by bandages and grabbed by a big hand which dragged it under the ground. "Now I sacrifice one of my Marauding Captains to summon Cyber-Tech Alligator (2500).''

"That's a pretty though monster you've got.''

"He's about to be joined by another one just as powerful. I activate one of my face-downs, Ultimate Offering and by giving up 500 life points, I can normal summon another monster. So I sacrifice my other Marauding Captain to bring out Summoned Skull (2500).

Erik: 4000-3500

"Now my monsters, wipe-out his life points.''

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen.''

"What are you talking about?''

"This. I reveal the trap card Nutrient Z. When I'm about to lose at least 2000 life points, this kicks in and gives me a 4000 point boost.''

Jeremy: 4000-8000

"Yeah, but you'll still lose a chunk of them.'' As he said this, Cyber-Tech Alligator slashed at Jeremy, followed by Summoned Skull who struck with lighting.

Jeremy: 8000-3000

"Now that that's done, it's my turn.''

A smile appeared on Jeremy's face as he saw the card he drew. "I activate my face-down Swiftstrike Armor and since the card I just drew is a Six Samurai monster, I'm automatically allowed to summon him. So meet the Six Samurai Nisashi (1400).'' A Samurai in green armor with two swords appeared on Jeremy's field.

"Next, because I still have a Six Samurai in my hand, by discarding Shadow of the Six Samurai, I can summon the Six Samurai Yaichi (1300).'' A Samurai in yellow armor holding a bow in one hand appeared next to the other.

"But that's not all. I activate Card of Sanctity, so we both draw cards until we each have six in our hands. Then I summon the Six Samurai Yariza (1000).'' Another Samurai joined the two. This one in black armor, wielding a spear.

"Now because Yaichi's on the field with his friends, instead of attacking, he can destroy one of your face-downs.'' The Yellow Samurai took an arrow from his quiver and shot Erik's face-down card, which was revealed to be Mirror Force.

"Even with my trap gone, none of your monsters even come close to beating mine.''

"Maybe so, but this card's about to change things. United We Stand. By equipping this to Nisashi, it gives him 800 attack points for each face-up monster I control.''

"That means his monster gains umm…''

"He gains 2400 attack points Syrus.''

"That's right Bastion.''

"Thanks to this, my monster's attack power rises all the way to 3800.'' (Nisashi: 1400-3800 atk)

"NO WAY!''

"What's better is, his ability allows him to attack twice in one turn. Now go Nisashi, take them down.'' The green samurai then jumped in the air and drew both his swords. As he fell, he split the enemy monsters vertically in two.

Erik: 3500-900

"And for the final blow. Yariza, attack him directly.'' Erik put his arms in front of him, but he was still knocked down by the slashing spear.

Erik: 900-0

"That's impossible. I can't have lost to some lame slacker.''

"Yes! I won! I guess you were right. This duel didn't last three turns.''

* * *

Later, Jaden and Jeremy met up with Syrus. "Way to go guys. Those were some awesome victories.''

"Thanks Sy. Duel Academy, here we come.''

* * *

Hope you liked it, please review. I'll consider any suggestions for OC characters or other stuff you think might be good to add (can't guarantee I'll put them in).


	3. Welcome to Duel Academy

I don't own Yugioh GX, bla bla bla bla bla etc etc.

Note: For the duels that are already in the show, I'll probably just skip over them or make them shorter, unless I just modify them until they aren't the same as the original.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Welcome to Duel Academy**

A helicopter with the logo of Duel Academy on its side was flying over the ocean. It was headed towards an island with several buildings, a dock, a widespread forest and a large volcano. As it neared its destination, the pilot spoke to the students inside.

"Attention new duel academy students, if you just look outside your windows, you'll see your new home for the year to come. Now we'll be landing in a short moment, so fasten your seatbelts and sit back. Next stop, Academy Island."

Bastion, who was seated next to Jeremy, gently elbowed him in the ribs to wake him up. "We're going to land soon. You might want to put on your seatbelt."

"But I don't want to wear that," Jeremy responded, still half asleep.

Bastion elbowed him a little harder this time, still failing to get results. However, Jeremy ended waking up when the helicopter angled downward, causing his face to hit the seat in front of him.

"Man that wasn't fun," he mumbled, as he sat back in his seat. "Why didn't you wake me up Bastion."

"Well I tried, but you only said 'I don't want to wear that'."

"Oh yeah… Just some dream I was having. Nothing important."

"Anyways, now that you're awake, I just wanted to congratulate you on your victory. It was most impressive."

"Thanks Bastion."

* * *

Shortly after, the helicopter landed on the school and the new students we're all ushered out. They were then guided to a place where there they were to pick up their uniforms. Jeremy walked up to one of the people sitting at a long table in front of a row of boxes.

"Your name please," a man asked him.

"Jeremy Wheeler."

He turned back and checked a few boxes before he picked one up and passed it to Jeremy.

"Your uniform, PDA and anything else you need for now. There's a place to change down there," he pointed to the side.

"Thanks."

After having put on their uniforms, they all followed the teacher to a classroom with a giant screen at the front. When they all got inside, it turned on, showing a bald man with a beard, wearing a red coat and a tie.

"Good morning and welcome students. I am Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster here. You're all here because you're the best and brightest young duelists in the world."

"Does he go on for much longer?" Jeremy asked no one in particular. "I'm bored." He looked behind him and saw Jaden's head was bobbing, as if he had a hard time staying fully awake. "Guess I'm not the only one."

* * *

Sheppard talked for almost a half an hour, finishing by saying something about their dorms and how they ranked.

When they got out, Jeremy, Jaden and Syrus all sat on small statues with creatures engraved on them. "So guys, I guess I'm in Slifer Red," Jaden said, as he checked his PDA. "What about you two?"

"Awesome, same thing with me," Jeremy replied.

"Me too. Maybe it's because we're all wearing red that we're in Slifer," Syrus pointed out.

"Really?" Jaden and Jeremy asked.

"Don't tell me you just realized this now?" Syrus said disbelievingly.

"I just didn't make the connection beforehand." Jeremy told him.

"Come on now. Why don't we go over to our dorm," Jaden suggested.

"Sure. Let's go."

* * *

"What kind of place is this? It looks like an outhouse with a deck."

"Cheer up Sy. At least the view's great. Let's check out our room." Jaden walked up to a door and looked at the number before opening it. "Yep. This one's ours."

The room was moderately sized. There was a triple bunk bed in one end, a sink and cupboard in another and a few desks against the wall opposite the bed.

"I guess it isn't the biggest there is, but it still looks pretty nice,"

"You said it Jeremy. This'll be great for our first year," Jaden said, as he walked up to the window and pulled the drapes apart.

"Hey! Those we're closed for a reason," a loud voice came from the top bunk.

"Sorry. We didn't see you up there." Jaden apologized.

"Yeah? Well how about know?" A large angry face that looked like a koala stared at the three of them from the top of the bed.

Jaden and Syrus immediately grabbed one another, shouting in fright, while Jeremy simply passed out on the floor.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my room?"

"I'm Jaden Yugi, this is Syrus and on the floor is Jeremy. We're your new roommates."

"Then let me explain to you how it works around here."

"How what works?" Jeremy said, having gotten up.

"The color issue, duh! That's one thing you don't want to forget. There are three kinds of students here. The Obelisk Blues are the highest, then the Ra Yellows and finally, there's us. The Slifer Red flunkies. Were the bottom of the barrel. By the way, I'm Chumley."

"Yeah… Nice to meet you," Jeremy said with little conviction. "Hey guys, I just realized something."

"That Sy's wearing glasses?"

"Not that Jay. As you can see there are three of us and only two beds left."

"Aww man. That's not good. How are we going to work this out?"

As Syrus said this, they heard a knock on the door. "Excuse me, but I'm here to bring you another mattress for the room. Sorry we can't get an actual bed, but the budget for the red dorm isn't too high. So this is the best we can do for you guys."

"That's okay. We'll manage," Jaden replied in his usual happy voice.

They grabbed the mattress and set it down at the foot of the bunk. "Well then, later you three."

"So," Syrus said. "Who gets to sleep on the mattress?"

"Not me." Jaden and Jeremy both said at the same time.

"I'd rather not either."

"Hey I've got an idea."

"Like what Jay?"

"Why don't we duel each other to decide?"

"I'm down with that. Sy?"

"I've got different idea. Why don't we all pick a random monster from our decks and whoever gets the one with the lowest attack points sleeps on the mattress."

"Alright then."

They all pulled their decks from their cases and Jaden took out his card. "I got Sparkman (1600), beat that."

"Piece of cake." Jeremy picked his own. "I got… Hand of the Six Samurai (1600). Ok maybe not."

"Okay." Syrus reached for his card. "I have… Drillroid (1600)."

"I guess we all tied. Let's just all draw another," Jaden proposed. "Mine'll be… Avian (1000)? Oh oh."

"I picked… Gyroid. Aw man."

"This shouldn't be too hard," Jeremy thought to himself. "My card is…"

"Is what Jeremy? Come on out with it."

He showed them his card reluctantly. It was Shadow of the Six Samurai (200). "I'll take the bottom bunk then, Syrus can sleep in the middle and Jeremy gets the mat. Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll be fine."

* * *

After having finished settling into their room, the three of them we're walking inside the academy building and happened upon a dueling arena.

"Wow, this is some cool place."

"No kidding Jay. This rocks."

"It must be amazing to duel here."

"Well Sy, why don't we find out."

"Do you guys think we should?"

"Why not? I mean we're students here and this is our campus."

"Wrong!" They looked around and saw the two Obelisk students standing near them. "This part of the campus belongs to the Obelisk Blues. And Slifer dropouts like you aren't meant to be here."

"Yeah! See that crest?" One of them with hair sticking upward, pointed at a crest with the face of Obelisk the Tormentor. "This arena's our turf."

"Really?" Jeremy said. A sly smile on his face. "Then why don't you guys defend it by dueling us?"

"Hey I recognize them," the Obelisk with the glasses said. "He's the one that beat Erik and the other beat Dr. Crowler. Hey Chazz, that kid who beat Crowler is here."

Chazz walked down the bleachers until he was level with the others. "I guess he must have some skill, if he beat Crowler's legendary monster. Or maybe he just got lucky. I say we find out right now. Me against you."

Jeremy slapped Jaden's back. "You show him Jay."

"This is a strange gathering we have here." They all turned around and saw the Obelisk girl who had spoken.

"Hey Alexis. Have you come to see me mop the floor with my new friend Jaden? I won't be a long duel, be it'll be fun to watch."

"No, I came to remind you about the Obelisk welcome dinner. You'll be late if you don't get there soon."

"Oh yeah! Let's go guys." Chazz passed by Jeremy as he went out. "Don't worry, I saw you little match against Erik and I'll be sure to remember you."

Alexis turned towards the three Slifer boys. "Sorry about that. It isn't all the Obelisks that are like him. He's just a jerk, even more to Slifers."

"Hey no problem, his type doesn't really bother me. Besides, I could beat him in one turn, maybe two, two and a half."

"Are you sure it'd take you that long Jay? I could probably beat him with my eyes closed."

"Um guys? It's good to be sure of yourselves and all, but maybe we should work on the overconfidence issue."

"By the way, the Slifer welcome dinner should be starting soon."

"Good, let's go I'm starving." As if for emphasis, Jeremy and Jaden's stomach's growled a little.

As they began to run back, Jaden turned around. "What was your name again?"

"Alexis Rhodes and yours?"

"I'm Jaden. Later!"

* * *

"This is what we get for our welcome dinner?" The Slifer students were sitting in their cafeteria and in front of them were trays with sardines, rice, what looked like gravy with chunks in it and a few pieces of pineapple.

"What's with the cat?" Syrus thought out loud. "I hope he's not really our headmaster."

As he said this, a tall man with long black hair, glasses and wearing a white shirt stepped out of the kitchen. "Hello children. I am professor Banner. I'm also your headmaster. Now before we eat, why don't we all-" Banner stopped as he heard someone eating loudly. Jaden and Jeremy were eating in a way that seemed as if they were having a contest.

"Guys, he's coming over here. I'd rather not be in trouble on my first day."

Banner stopped next to their table and cleared his throat. Jeremy and Jaden momentarily stopped eating and looked at him. They both tried to say their names, but their cheeks were puffed up like chipmunks because of the food, making it impossible to figure out what they wanted to say. "Well I guess not everyone can wait. Let's just all dig in."

* * *

"Man I'll tell ya, professor Banner sure can cook," Jaden said, as he rubbed his stomach.

"No kidding. He's almost as good as my dad."

"Care for tea guys?" Syrus offered them mugs that he had just filled.

"Thanks."

"What about you Chumley?"

The only answer he got was Chumley turning around and snoring. They then heard a beeping sound coming from around Jaden. He picked up his PDA which indicated an incoming message. "Hey Slifer slacker." They all saw Chazz's face on the screen. "Don't start thinking I've forgotten. Tonight at midnight we're dueling. And why don't we each put up our best card up for grabs. And unless your friend Jeremy's too scared, bring him with you. I'll have someone waiting for him as well."

"Wicked! Looks like we'll get to duel in that arena after all."

* * *

Later Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus were walking down the hall towards the Arena. "If you're dueling Chazz, who do you think I'm up against?" Jeremy asked.

"Maybe one of those two guys that were around him before."

"So you guys actually came? I was afraid you'd run scared." They took notice of Chazz and the two other Obelisks standing on the arena platform.

"No way. I never back down from a challenge."

"Same with me. So who am I going to duel?"

"You'll be against him." Chazz pointed to the larger Obelisk with pointed hair. "Mat. You can take care of this one first. After that though, Jaden's all mine."

Jeremy walked up to his opponent, while the others stayed back. "Hope you're ready to lose, Slifer."

"Of course I'm not. That's because I know I'm going to win this."

"You tell him, Jeremy," Jaden cheered.

"Let's duel." They both activated their disks and drew their cards.

Mat: 4000

Jeremy: 4000

"Since you're worse than me, I'll let you go first."

"Alright then."

Jeremy drew a card and looked at his hand. "I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode (1400). Then I play two cards face down and give you a shot."

"Your puny little monster won't save you. I play Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode (1800). Now go get him."

"I activate Negate Attack. So this stops your knight and ends the battle phase."

"Big deal. I play two Dian Keto the Cure Master to gain a total of 2000 life-points.

Mat: 4000-6000

"Then I end my turn with one face-down."

"My turn. Now this card'll be a big deal for you. Or at least your monster. I play fissure and it destroys your monster with the lowest attack points. But you only have one anyway." A crack appeared underneath Gearfried, which got larger until he fell through.

"Damn. My knight!"

"Obnoxious Celtic guardian, attack him directly."

"You're not the only one with a trap. I activate my own Negate Attack."

"Ah bummer," Jeremy said as his monster's sword was deflected. "Ah well, I'll just finish by throwing down two more face-downs."

"I draw. And I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards. Then I play two Tremendous Fire magic cards. Each deals 1000 points of damage to you and 500 to me." Flames then surrounded the two duelists, causing their life points to drop.

Mat: 6000-5000

Jeremy: 4000-2000

"And now, meet Injection Fairy Lilly (400). Attack his guardian."

"What up with that? Your monster's only got 400 attack points."

"Yeah but when she's in a battle, by giving up 2000 of my life-points, her attack goes up by 3000. (Injection Fairy Lilly: 400-3400 atk)

Mat: 5000-3000

"Oh no, Jeremy's going to lose."

"Don't count him out yet Syrus."

"Now my fairy, crush his life-points." The little fairy threw her giant syringe at Jeremy's monster.

"I reveal Spirit Barrier. So as long as I have a monster on the field, all battle damage I take is zero."

His Guardian was struck by the flying projectile, yet remained on the field. "Your monster still should have been destroyed."

"Not thanks to his special ability. You see, when he fights a monster with 1900 or more attack points, he can't be destroyed in battle. And since you powered up your fairy, that put her above the limit."

"You're only delaying the inevitable."

"Yeah whatever."

"I play my last card face down and end my turn."

"I draw."

"And I activate Dust Tornado. So I can destroy your Spirit Barrier." A whirlwind appeared around Jeremy's trap card which was shattered. "Now you'll get damage even if your monster can't be destroyed."

"That's not good," Jeremy thought to himself. He then looked at the card he had drawn. "Sweet. With this card, I can't possibly lose."

"Your little fairy's going to need a trip to the doctor's office soon."

"Yeah right! I still have enough life-points to power her up."

"Not after this you won't. I reveal The Paths of Destiny. Now we each flip a coin and if we're lucky enough to get heads, we gain 2000 life points, but if we get tails, well… you can guess what happens."

"This is some risky move. If Mat get's tails, he won't have enough life-points to strengthen his fairy. But if Jeremy get's tails, he'll lose the duel."

"Don't worry Syrus. Something just tells me he'll get exactly what he needs."

Jeremy flipped a coin he had in his pocket as his opponent did the same. "Yes! I got heads."

"NO WAY! I GOT TAILS!"

Mat: 3000-1000

Jeremy: 2000-4000

"Now your monster's defenseless. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack, with silver blade strike." His monster jumped in the air with its sword over its head. He brought his blade down upon the fairy that blew apart when she was hit.

Mat: 1000-0

"And that's what we call game."

"Way to go Jeremy."

"I knew you were going to win."

"Alright then. You may have won Jeremy, but now it's Jaden's turn. And I'm not going to be as easy."

"You can beat this guy Jay."

"Yeah, this time you prove to him that Slifers aren't pushovers."

* * *

"Hope you're ready to fork over your best card when you lose.''

"You too. Now get your game on.''

They both activated their disks and drew their cards. "I'll start with reborn zombie in defense mode (1600) and finish off with one card face-down.''

"Now you may want to pay attention, cause I'm gonna take this duel to the next level. I play polymerization to fuse Elemental Hero Avian and Burstinatrix, to bring out Flame Wingman (2100).'' A green and red winged creature with a dragon like head for a right hand appeared on Jaden's field.

"Wow! That is some cool monster,'' Jeremy admired.

"You're so predictable slacker. I activate Chthonian Polymer.''

"Umm, what's that card do?''

"I thought you guys would be here.''

Jeremy and Syrus turned around to see Alexis heading towards them. "Alexis, was it?''

"Chthonian polymer let's you control one of your opponent's fusion monsters by sacrificing one of you own.'' As she explained this to the two boys, Chazz's zombie went to the graveyard as The Flame Wingman left Jaden.

"That's not good. Oh by the way, nice to meet you. My name's Jeremy. Too bad you missed my duel.''

The duel went on. Jaden eventually regained his Wingman but lost it afterwards. When Jaden's turn came, he had 550 life points and no monsters, while Chazz had 1500 left and Mefist the Infernal General in attack mode (1800). Just as he drew his card, they all heard footsteps coming down the corridor.

"Guys, campus security's coming. If they find us here, we'll be in serious trouble.''

"Huh? Why's that,'' Jaden asked. "Aren't we allowed to duel here?''

"The rules say no off hour arena dueling. Chazz know this, but he probably didn't tell you.''

"Come on Chazz. Let's get out of here.''

"But the duel isn't over.''

Chazz deactivated his duel disk. "It's not like you would have won anyway. Your win against Crowler was obviously a fluke.''

"This stinks. I had him right where I wanted.''

Jeremy put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sorry you can't finish beating this guy Jay, but you'll probably get to duel him again.''

"Fine then. How do we get out of here?''

* * *

The three Slifer boys and Alexis were now in front of the academy, having managed to avoid getting caught. "Thanks for helping us Alexis.''

"No problem. Too bad I missed your duel Jeremy and I'm sorry you didn't get to finish yours Jaden.''

"Don't worry. I would have won even if it hadn't been interrupted. Especially since I'd just drawn this.'' Jaden showed them Monster Reborn. Alexis realized that he could have brought back his Flame Wingman and destroyed Chazz's monster for the win.

"Well, later''

They all started walking back to their respective dorms. "Hey Jeremy.''

"What is it Sy?''

"I was just wondering how you got so lucky in your duel. I mean you could have lost because of a coin toss.''

He took two cards from his deck and showed them to Syrus and Jaden. "You see, I had Bad Reaction to Simochi face-down, which would have made Mat lose life-points even if he would have gotten heads. And if I'd gotten tails, since I had another six samurai in my hand, I could have discarded Shadow of the Six Samurai to reduce my damage to zero.''

"That's funny.''

"What is Jay?''

"You lost our draw for the mattress because of that monster, but he would have ensured your victory if things had of gone wrong with that trap you played.''

"Your right. Let's get back to our room soon shall we?''

They made it to their room and got in their beds and Jeremy on the mattress. As he fell asleep, he thought to himself "Man this was so much fun. I can only hope tomorrow's as good.''

* * *

Hope you liked it. Please review, I'll accept anything you write, if it isn't extremely negative or degrading. By the way, I could only find the Japanese name for Chazz's 'friends', so I made one up.


	4. A Different Kind of Detention

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh Gx. But you already knew that.

* * *

A Different Kind of Detention

Jeremy, Jaden and Syrus were all sleeping in their room. They had fallen asleep as soon as they had lain down on their beds, or in Jeremy's case, mattress, because of the late night duels against Chazz and his accomplice Mat. Syrus was the first to awaken, perhaps because he hadn't dueled anyone the previous night. As he opened his eyes, he could just read the clock on the desk opposite him. Seeing how late it was, he jumped up in surprise, only to bang his head on the top of the bed.

"Aww man. That hurt," Syrus complained as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What's going on?" Chumley asked, having woken up from the noise.

"It's already 7:50. If we don't get moving soon, we'll be late for class. Help me get the others up."

"Alright, alright. Just give me a minute." Chumley crawled out from the top bunk and made his way down. They tried shaking Jaden but it had no effect.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Syrus worried.

"I've got an idea. Pretty simple really." Chumley then walked out of their room for a few minutes. When he came back, he had a bottle of hot sauce that he had obtained from the kitchen. "You may want to plug your nose Syrus, cause this stuff smells strong." He took a deep breath and held the bottle right underneath Jaden's nose. He opened the bottle which was quick to produce results.

"WHOA! What is that?" Jaden said as he jumped out of the bed.

"It's called hot sauce Jaden," Chumley explained as he put the top back on.

"I sure wouldn't like to have to eat that stuff." Jeremy had woken up about the same time as Jaden had.

Syrus almost couldn't believe it. "When you said that stuff smelled strong you sure weren't kidding Chumley."

"So what's with the weird wakeup call Chum?"

"Well it's almost 8:00, so if you guys don't want to be late, we should get moving soon. And you know what? I think our first class is with Dr. Crowler, if we're late we're in for it."

"Fine then let's get a move on."

* * *

The four of them got dressed and managed to sink their teeth into a few of Chumley's grilled chesses before having to run off towards the main building, where the classrooms were. "I… hate… running… this… much," Chumley complained.

"Common Chum, you can do it. Just imagine a nice big grill cheese is waiting for you in class," Jeremy tried to inspire him. The thought of his favorite kind of food was just enough to send Chumley's mind racing. Chumley then started to run fast to the point that it seemed almost as if someone had strapped a rocket to his back.

"Hey! Wait up Chumley," they all shouted after him.

* * *

They finally arrived in the classroom just before Crowler started. "Whew. I guess we made it just in the nick of time," Jeremy said relieved.

"Yes, yes. Now why don't you all take your seats before I find another reason to give you detention?" Crowler waited with a frown on his face.

The four Slifers went to their seats in the middle of the class and Crowler started to talk about different monster cards. "Now as you should know there are monsters you can only summon by combining two or more monsters. Anyone who isn't too dimwitted will know I'm talking about fusion monsters."

"Hey Jeremy," Jaden leaned over to speak with his friend. "If we were to have a test just on fusion monsters, that'd probably be the one time I'd get an A."

"Are you sure about that Jay?"

"Ok. Maybe if it was about elemental hero fusions."

"I'd find it easier to believe that. As for me, I'd probably flunk a test on fusion monsters. Especially since I don't have a single one in my deck."

"You're kidding me. So what kind of deck do you use then?"

"Well, I've got almost nothing but warrior monsters. Most of which are the Six Samurai. They're the best monsters out there."

"Yeah, I saw your entrance duel against that Obelisk student," Syrus said. "Those were some pretty cool monsters you used against him."

"Thanks Sy. And there are still more where those came from. By the way Jaden, I was told about your duel against Crowler. I heard you beat him good."

"Just what is it you might be talking about?" Crowler faced the three Slifer students. "Care to tell the rest of the class?"

"Sure Doc. We we're talking about fusions, but then there was something about our entrance duels, when Jaden beat you and I won against that Obelisk student."

Crowler was seething with rage at Jeremy's comment. 'How dare that Slifer slacker bring up my defeat at the hands of his friend and think that he's better than my Obelisk blues?' he thought to himself.

"Yes. Now be quiet and pay attention," Crowler said with barely repressed rage.

Jeremy actually was quiet for awhile, but he wasn't so much paying attention. He had taken out a piece of paper and was drawing whatever things came to his mind. Some involving stickmen, duel monsters or people. He was currently drawing a short comic strip of Dr. Crowler. In it their teacher was seen as a klutz who had accidents all day. Such as tripping in his sheets when getting out of bed, walking into a glass door, having a window close on top of his fingers and other such things.

He went unseen by the person in question until near the end of the class, when Crowler happened to notice that his being quiet didn't imply that he was paying attention. "Jeremy Wheeler, just what do you think you're doing?"

"Ummm, nothing too important."

"Then why don't you bring whatever it is you're doing down here?"

Jeremy walked to the front of the class and gave his paper with the cartoon drawing. Crowler looked over it twice before realizing that it was him portrayed as the accident prone character. "That's it. Eight hours detention for this."

"Ah come on Dr. Crowler, surely we can arrange this some other way."

He was about to tell him straight out no, before he chose to hold back the thought. 'I know just what I can do to make this Slacker regret his predicament even more.'

"Why not? I've just had an idea. How about we have a duel after classes finish? And if you somehow manage to win, you'll be free of detention. But should you lose, I'll make it sixteen hours instead of Eight. Up to the challenge?"

"Of course I am. This'll be sweet."

'Yes. You may have beaten Erik, but with me it'll be different. I'll get to humiliate you in front of your friends and you'll get an even longer detention.'

"Good now we'll duel at the Arena right after classes finish."

"Fine by me. Hope you'll be ready Dr."

* * *

In the time that it had taken for classes to finish, the news about Crowler and Jeremy's duel had already spread through the school like wildfire. Jeremy, Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were walking towards the arena. "So Jeremy, think you can beat the Dr.?"

"Course Jay. Especially with the idea of being free of detention to motivate me."

"By the way why is it that Crowler wanted to put you in detention in the first place?"

"Maybe because I mentioned you beating him and that comic I drew."

"What did you draw?"

"I drew Crowler as some character in real life that gets into all sorts of accidents. Maybe he didn't like it that much. Don't worry though, with my deck, I can take on whatever he throws at me."

"I hope I get to see some of those samurais you were bragging about."

"Don't worry. Most of my deck is built around them. So you'll probably get to see some of them."

"Well, good luck Jeremy."

"Thanks guys."

As Jeremy walked to the middle of the arena to face-off against Crowler, there were quite a few people who had gathered to watch the duel. Most were Slifers and Obelisks with a few Ra's. The Slifers had come to cheer for their fellow student, quite a few of the Obelisks were waiting for Crowler to beat Jeremy, while most of the Ra's were there just to watch the duel.

Crowler looked at the students watching. 'There's a nice crowd that gathered. Good now even more people will see me crush this slacker and they'll realize why the red dorm's the lowest.'

Jaden was beside Syrus and Chumley when Bastion sat down behind them. "Hey Bastion! How's it going?"

"Pretty good. I heard about the duel and decided to check it out."

"Yeah I just know Jeremy's going to win."

"I guess we'll see."

* * *

"Now then, let's begin shall we?"

"You got it Dr." They both inserted their decks and activated their disks. "Get your game on ."

Crowler: 4000

Jeremy: 4000

'Yes and I'll get yours off.'

"I'll start by playing my Ancient Gear Castle. Now this card gives all my Ancient Gear monsters an extra 300 attack points and when a monster is played, it gains a counter. Now I summon Ancient Gear Soldier in attack mode (1600)."

A human like mechanical monster with a machine gun on it's right arm took it's place in front of Crowler.

"Then I equip him with Ancient Gear Tank, which gives him another 600 attack points."

The gear soldier climbed in the circular tank. (1600-2200)

"Finally I'll play one card face down and end my turn."

"That's quite a few attack points for your first turn. Guess I'll have to cut them down a little. Here goes. Yes! Since I have another Six Samurai monster in my hand, I can discard Shadow of the Six Samurai, which lets me special summon The Six Samurai Zanji (1800)."

A samurai wearing red and gold armor appeared on Jeremy's field. He held a spear in one hand, yet at the tip it had the blade of a sword.

"And to join him, I'll bring out The Six Samurai Kamon (1500)."

Another Samurai appeared beside the other. This one wore brown armor and held a stick of dynamite.

"Now just so you know, all Six Samurai monsters have a special ability that activates when they're on the field with another Six Samurai. And Kamon's ability is that by not attacking, he can destroy one of my opponent's face-up magic or trap cards. And I think I'll pick, your Ancient Gear Tank."

Kamon lit his stick of dynamite and threw it at the tank. It exploded on contact, tearing apart the monster's weapon and causing its attack points to drop. (2200-1600)

"However, when my tank's destroyed and sent to the graveyard, it gives you 600 points of damage."

A piece of the tank broke off and hit Jeremy's disk.

Jeremy: 4000-3400

"Well I've still got my other monster. Go Zanji attack his Ancient Gear Soldier."

Jeremy monster dashed across the field and swiped at the middle of Crowler's soldier. Its top half then slid off before shattering.

Crowler: 4000-3800

"And I'll leave it at that."

"Alright then. First off I'll draw two cards thanks to pot of greed. Then by sending my ancient gear castle to the graveyard, I can summon my Ancient Gear Golem without a tribute." Crowler's signature monster appeared on his field, towering over Jeremy's samurais (3000).

"This isn't good."

"Unfortunately for you, it isn't and it's about to get worse. Because I play Premature Burial, which lets me summon a monster from my graveyard at the cost of 800 life-points. So I'll bring back my soldier (1300).

The metal soldier stood up next to the taller Golem.

Crowler: 3800-3000

"And then I'll equip him with another Ancient Gear Tank (1300-1900). Now Golem, Attack his Six Samurai Zanji, Mechanized Melee."

"Kamon, defend him." As the Gear Golem's fist was going to hit Zanji, Kamon jumped in front of his ally, receiving the blow instead.

"What's this?" Crowler asked.

"When one of my Six Samurais is about to be destroyed, I can choose to have another one take the hit. But the damage I take doesn't change though."

Jeremy: 3400-2200

"Fine then, I'll just destroy your monster with my soldier."

Crowler's smaller monster shot the remaining samurai with a projectile from it's vehicle.

Jeremy: 2200-2100

"I think that was enough for now."

"I must say, with Crowler's Golem out, not to mention his powered up soldier, things aren't looking too good for Jeremy."

"Come on Bastion, I'm positive he'll win. Go Jeremy! You can do it!"

"Thanks Jay."

'Now let's see what I've got… This might be good.'

"I play my own pot of greed...Oh yeah! I play a face-down and summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode (1400)."

"Your monster can't even beat my soldier let alone my Golem."

"You not the only person with equip cards. I activate Mage Power. This awesome card give the monster it's attached to an extra 500 attack and defense points for each magic or trap card I've got out. So with itself and my face-down, that's 1000 points (1400-2400 atk/ 1200-2200 def). Now attack his Soldier."

Jeremy's Guardian jumped in the air and brought down his sword, destroying both the Ancient Gear Soldier and Tank.

Crowler: 3000-2500

"Since my tank went to the graveyard, you lose 600 life-points again."

Jeremy: 2100-1500

"I'll just end my turn."

Crowler grinned as he saw the card he drew. "I play Limiter Removal. Now at the cost of destroying my machine type monsters at the end of my turn, this card doubles their attack points." (3000-6000)

"Now that's a whole lot of attack points."

"No kidding Chumley. If this hits, Jeremy's loses. Even if his monster can't be destroyed."

"Don't worry Syrus he's still got a face-down."

"Jaden, in case you weren't aware of it, when Ancient Gear monsters attack, you can't activate Spells or Traps."

"Who said he had to wait for an attack?"

"Anything to say before I end the duel?" Crowler asked Jeremy.

"Yeah. There is. This duel isn't over yet. I reveal my face-down, Spirit Barrier. So as long as I have at least one monster on the field, I take no battle damage. Meaning that you just doomed your golem for no reason."

'NOOOOO! Not my Golem. How could that Slacker do that? He still hasn't won though.'

"I play Trojan Horse in defense mode and one card face-down."

A wooden horse laid down in front of Crowler's face-down. (1200)

"I end my turn."

The Gear Golem overloaded and broke apart from the effect of Limiter Removal.

"I summon the Six Samurai Nisashi." Jeremy's Green Samurai appeared beside the elven warrior. (1400) "Now attack."

"Go Zero Gravity. This card forces all monsters to change battle modes." Jeremy two monsters kneeled down (Nisashi: 700; Obnoxious Celtic Guardian: 2200), while Crowler's Horse stood up (1600).

"Well, I got nothing more to do. Your turn."

"I activate the spell Graceful Charity. So I draw three cards and discard two. When summoning an earth attribute monster, my trojan horse counts a two sacrifices, so let's all welcome yet another Ancient Gear Golem."

Crowler's second Golem rose on his field. (3000)

"Next I'll equip him with Ancient Gear Fist. With this, any monster he attacks is automatically destroyed. Now crush his Guardian."

The Gear Golem shot out his fist like a rocket which slammed into Jeremy's monster, destroying it even though he took no damage.

"I think I'll leave it at that."

"Ok, here goes. I play Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until we each hold six cards. Then I'll bring back Zanji with Monster Reborn."

The red gold samurai came back to Jeremy's field. "But I also equip him with Legendary Ebon Steed."

A black warhorse appeared and Zanji mounted it. "This gives any Six Samurai an extra 200 attack and defense points (1800-2000 atk/ 1300-1500 def). Now attack his Golem."

The black horse galloped forward with its rider, while the opposing machine shot its fist towards the warrior. He then jumped off his horse, onto the flying projectile and propelled himself in the direction of the enemy monster. His mount was destroyed yet as that happened, he flew by Crowler's monster and sliced off it's head. The Obelisk teacher was hysterical as he saw his monster fall. "Wait! How could you beat my Golem? How did your samurai survive?"

"To answer your first question, Zanji's ability works just like your Ancient Gear Fist, because any monster he attacks is basically done for. As for your second one, when Legendary Ebon Steed is equipped to a monster that's about to be destroyed, it's sent to the graveyard instead."

As he explained this, his monster's points returned to normal. (2000-1800 atk/ 1500-1300 def)

"Now you've got no monsters left, so I can attack you directly. And since Zanji is still on the field, Nisashi can attack twice. Go get him."

The green samurai unsheathed his two swords and threw them at Dr. Crowler. They spun in the air before connecting with the chest piece of his duel vest, causing him to fall on his back, as well as depleting his remaining life-points.

Crowler: 2500-0

"Yeah! And that's what we call game. Man that was fun! So I guess I'm free of detention."

In his mind, Crowler was screaming. 'Impossible. I can't have lost to a lowly Slifer again. How could this have happened?'

* * *

In the higher seats, an Obelisk blue girl watched as Jeremy won. 'Impressive,' she thought. 'I hope that I have the chance to duel you soon. Though my father always beat yours when they dueled, it might be interesting to see the outcome of a match between us.'

* * *

As he made his way out, Jeremy was joined by his three friends. "So guys, what did you all think of that?"

"Your samurais are really cool. It was fun seeing them in action. But what's with saying my lines?"

"Sorry about that. Guess I didn't know."

"It's okay, no biggie. By the way you were right when you said you're samurais were good."

"Thanks. And I haven't even played them all.

"That's okay. There's still a lot of my monsters that you haven't seen either."

"Hey Chumley, you wouldn't happen to have any grilled cheeses with you? That duel made me hungry."

"When we get back to the dorm, I can make you some."

"Umm Jeremy," Syrus spoke up.

"What's up Sy?"

"I was just wondering, your last name's Wheeler right?"

"Yup."

"Are you related in any way to Joey Wheeler?"

"Sure am. He's my dad. My mom's Mai."

His friends were all amazed at this. "Wow! It must be fun to have two parents who are duelists."

"Yeah! You might be able to meet them, if they manage to come here to visit. But until then, we'll just have to take life as it goes. And soon, I'm gonna take some food before I go too hungry."

They all made their way to their dorm, laughing at his attempt at humor.

* * *

I made up this chapter because I wanted a reason that Crowler would be angry with Jeremy for the next chapter. Speaking of which, I'll introduce another OC character. Please review. Feel free to point out any errors I make or give suggestions.


	5. Blue Girls and Red Guys

I don't own Yugioh Gx. It sucks but what can you do?

**

* * *

Blue Girls and Red Guys**

It was a beautiful day at Academy Island. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and it seemed likely to continue like this for the rest of the day. Looking inside the school itself, classes were going on as usual. In one of the rooms, Dr. Velian Crowler was in front of a class with students of all three dorms. He watched as Alexis Rhodes explained the different types of cards that existed.

"Monster cards can be divided into normal monster cards, fusion monster cards, ritual monster cards and effect monster cards. Trap cards can be classed into normal traps, counter traps and continuous traps. Spells can be split into normal spells, continuous spells, equip spells, quick-play spells, ritual spells and field spells."

Crowler smiled as she finished. "Perfect. That was marvelously done Alexis. Of course I don't expect anything less from one of my Obelisk Blues."

"Yes Dr. Crowler."

"Hmm now who should we question next?" Crowler looked around at the Slifer Reds. "You there, Syrus Truesdale." The student in question stood up in fright. "Why don't you explain to the class what an equip spell is."

"Umm… An equip spell is umm… something that does something that is umm…"

"Even four year olds now the answer to this you Slifer slacker." Most of the Obelisk's erupted in laughter as one of them made the comment at Syrus' expense.

"Come on Sy, I know you can get it right," Jeremy tried to motivate his friend.

"Yeah, just relax," Jaden said.

Everyone waited, but Syrus just tensed up. "Time's up. Sit down. Now would someone care to give me an actual answer? Preferably someone not wearing red thank you."

"Aww man. I blew it. I made all the Slifers look bad."

"You know something teach? You really shouldn't make fun of us Slifers like that. I mean Jeremy and I are Slifers and we beat you. So when you're making fun of us, you're really making fun of yourself."

"Hey doc, if you still want to know what an equip spell is, well its one of the cards I used to beat you in our duel." Jeremy high fived Jaden for his quip.

Crowler bit down on his handkerchief in anger. 'THAT'S IT! I won't have these slackers stay at my school for one second more. I'll make sure they're taken down."

* * *

The bell rang a while after, signifying the end of the class. As the three Slifers made their way to the next class, Jeremy happened to bump into an Obelisk girl. He took a step back to apologize and saw she was about as tall as him. Her hair was a pale blue and dropped to the middle of her back in a single long braid. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, don't worry, that's alright. Hey, I remember you. Your name's Jeremy right? I saw your duel against Crowler."

"That's me. Slifer freshman extraordinaire." Jeremy grinned sheepishly as he talked. "And what about you?"

"Where are my manners? My name's Christine. I'm a first year Obelisk."

Jeremy glimpsed his friends getting ahead. "Nice to see that not everyone wearing blue has an over inflated attitude. I'd love to talk, but I should really get to class. Later."

She watched for a moment as he ran off. "Yes later."

They all made it to the classroom and were in their seats by the time the bell had rung. "Hey Jeremy, what took you so long," Jaden asked.

"I just ran into an Obelisk girl named Christine. She seemed pretty nice and she didn't have an elitist attitude like a lot of them."

"At least now we know Alexis isn't the only one like that."

The Slifer headmaster soon sat in his chair in front of the class. "Hello children. As some of you might know, my name is Professor Lyman Banner. I specialize in some of lesser known tactics and strategies in the world of duel monsters."

Jaden and Jeremy both yawned at the same time.

"By the way guys, I wanted to thanks you."

"Sure Sy, what for?"

"Sticking up for me against Crowler."

Jaden noticed at that time that Banner was looking at his friend. "I'm thinking that we might have to do it again in a moment."

"Syrus."

"Yes sir."

"Do me a favor and grab Pharaoh would you?"

Syrus was obviously confused by his request. "Umm Pharaoh?"

"Unless you are minoring as a scratch post."

They heard a meow coming from the floor and Syrus looked down to see a big tabby cat rubbing himself against his leg. "He seems to think you make a good one Sy." A bunch of students laughed at this, even Jaden and Jeremy, though their laughter was good natured.

* * *

Later in the day, Crowler was in his office plotting his revenge against the two Slifers. Currently he was writing a false love letter for Jaden. "How dare those Slifer slackers make a mockery of me in front of my own class. I'll be sure that it's the last mistake they ever make at this academy." He placed the letter in an envelope and put on a red lipstick. He sealed it with the imprint of a kiss.

"Ah, the big kiss off. Now what to do for his friend?" He thought about it for a moment before an idea came to him. "Ah yes I now just what to do." He took out his PDA and started to type a message.

_Since I saw you duel, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you._

_I just have to meet with you._

_Please come behind the girl's dorm tonight._

_Signed: Your secret admirer._

He then sent it off, intending for Jeremy to receive it. What he hadn't realized was that he had pressed a couple of the wrong numbers, instead sending it to Syrus' PDA. Then he went out to the boys' locker room to plant the letter so Jaden would be sure to find it.

* * *

Jeremy, Jaden and the rest of their classmates were currently in the Gymnasium, dressed in sweat pants and sweat shirts with the Duel Academy logo. They were all grouped together waiting for their teacher to show up. "That's weird, Sy isn't here yet."

"I don't now Jay. Maybe he got lost or something."

A minute later a tall brown haired woman with two earrings, dressed in the same general manner as the students walked in front of them. "Hi everyone, my name is Fonda Fontaine and I'll be your gym instructor for this semester. You all ready to sweat?"

Jeremy looked at his clothes. "If we aren't, at least we're dressed for it."

"Today we'll be playing my favorite sport. Volleyball! But first, we all need to do a little warm up."

Their warm up consisted of running laps around the gym, stretches and going over the basics of the game. When their teacher deemed that they had gone on long enough, she separated them into two teams to play. Since the team against Jaden and Jeremy were missing a student, Ms. Fontaine decided to join them. Although they had her, the opposing team was only leading by eight points after the first ten minutes. Jeremy stood in the center rear position, waiting for the ball to be served. He then happened to notice Syrus coming out of the locker rooms and unfortunately averted his gaze for a moment.

"Heads up!" someone shouted. He looked back in front of him, only to receive the ball on the forehead. He fell to the ground, but it had not hit hard enough to knock him unconscious. "Jeremy, dude are you ok?" He saw Jaden's face above him.

"Hiya Jay. I didn't know you had a twin."

"Oooookay. Ms. Fontaine, I think he might be a little out of it."

"Don't worry. I have a degree in nursing." She checked him over and determined that nothing was too serious. "Everything's fine. Just put an ice pack on and it'll get better."

* * *

By the evening Jeremy was back in his room with Chumley. He was now playing a videogame on a handheld game player. His head was feeling much better since the gym class. Jaden walked in, still drying his hair with a towel. "Sy, I'm done with the outhouse if you want it."

"Sy's gonzo. He left a few minutes ago. He was in a really good mood too."

"That's strange, he wasn't like that most of today. Hey Jeremy, what are you playing?"

"Super Ninja Fighters 2. It's a really cool game. I'm just about to kick some monster's butt." He concentrated as he pressed a series of buttons and the little black character on the screen flashed its sword and the opposing giant fell into three pieces. "Yes!"

"I have that game too. Want to try yourself against me?"

"Do you have a cable to connect our game players?"

"Yep. It's just in my back pack."

"Then bring it on Jay."

* * *

Over at the Obelisk Blue Girl's dorm, Syrus had been caught walking around. His hands were tied together and he was being watched by Alexis as well as her friend Mindy and Jasmine. "So explain to us exactly what you're doing here," they asked.

"Well, I got a message on my PDA a while ago saying that someone wanted to meet me behind the girl's dorm. Then I found a letter from Alexis saying the same thing."

"Yeah right. Like she'd do something like that."

"But the note said so, I even have it right here." He managed to reach into his pocket and retrieved the letter in question. "Just read it."

Jasmine took it from Syrus' hands and the three girls glimpsed briefly at it. "Sorry, but this isn't exactly my handwriting."

"But then-"

"Wait a second," Jasmine interrupted, "this is made out to Jaden Yuki."

"What? Jaden?"

Jasmine turned the letter in front of Syrus' face who noticed that it was in fact addressed to Jaden. "What about the message on my PDA?" He reached into his pocket again and took it out. He brought up the message he had received and with a look of shock, realized that it also wasn't intended for him. "Aww man. This one's for Jeremy."

"Sorry about all this Syrus."

"Yeah, me too."

"I still don't buy it. I think we should turn him in for trespassing."

"But, but, but, but I-"

"Just what is going on down there?" The Obelisk Blue Girl's headmistress walked out of her room. The three girls forced the Slifer boy the bend down and sat on him to avoid his being seen.

"It's nothing Ms. Fontaine. We'll be sure to keep it quiet here."

"I should hope so, it's nearly midnight." She then walked away.

"So what now?"

"I'll tell you what girls. I say we use Syrus as a way to lure Jaden. Then we can find out if he's as good a duelist as everyone seems to think he is."

"I hope you don't mind if I intrude on your little scheme?" A girl dressed in her uniform stepped from behind a column.

"Oh! Hi Christine. What do you mean? You aren't going to report us are you?"

"No no, don't worry Alexis, it's nothing like that. I just want to be a part of it if you don't mind."

"How's that going to work? We can't exactly both duel Jaden."

"You've got it wrong. As good as he is I'm more interested in dueling his friend Jeremy. So why don't we just send them a message telling them we have Syrus and when they get here, we can make them duel us by saying we'll get them expelled if they lose."

"Good idea."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Syrus piped up.

"Not really."

"Aww man."

* * *

Back in the red dorm, Jaden and Jeremy were sitting across from each other, trying to get their video game character to beat the other. On the screen, a black clad ninja figure with a sword fought against an unarmed one wearing a karate outfit. "That's it Jay, prepare to bow down before the master."

"You wish. I'm so going to beat you." The ninja jumped back to avoid a kick and flashed its sword as Jeremy commanded it to try the same combo that beat the giant. Much to his dismay, instead of falling to pieces, Jaden's character caught the sword in its bare hands.

"What? No way! How could you possibly have- Uh oh." As he said the last words, the karate figure started punching his opponent at high speed. When the barrage ended, the ninja was lying on its back and the letters KO appeared on the screen.

"Yes! Now that's game. Wanna try again?" Before Jeremy had the chance to recover from the shock of having lost, Jaden's PDA started beeping to indicate an incoming message. He pressed the receive button and it showed a blank screen. A toneless voice spoke to him.

"_We have your roommate Syrus. If you want him back, you and Jeremy will come to the girl's dorms now. Alone."_

"What was that all about?"

"Someone has Syrus at the girl's dorm. We have to go there now."

"Ok, we'll just have to have our rematch another time."

The two boys found a boat and started to row across the lake to get to the meeting spot. They managed to find their way with the moonlight. Jeremy was rowing while Jaden was looking for Syrus. "See him yet Jay?"

"Yep. Straight ahead." A minute later, they reached the docks where Syrus still had his hands held and was surrounded by four Obelisk girl's.

"Hi guys."

"Hey. So what gives?"

"Well, to make a long story short, I'm basically a big loser."

"Your friend trespassed into the girl's campus," Jasmine explained.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Is that true Sy?"

"And now that you two are here, you're both trespassing too," Mindy said.

"That's right." The two boys' attention focused on Alexis. "So if you don't want us to turn you in, Jaden's gonna have to beat me in a duel." A cough from behind her prompted her to step aside.

"Hello Jeremy. Hope you've got your deck handy. Because after they're done, you're going to be dueling against me."

"Cool, I can hardly wait."

"So this is who you were talking about earlier." Jeremy nodded to his friend. "Well there's no need to worry Sy, cause we're both going to win. Now let's duel Alexis."

* * *

The four Obelisk girls and the three boys, Syrus with his hands untied, were in two separate boats on the lake facing each other. Jaden and Alexis stood at the front with their dueling disks on their arms. "I hope you know what you're doing Jaden."

"Come on Sy, have faith in him will you."

A distance from them, Crowler was wading in the water, dressed in a black wetsuit. "Ooo. A Slifer against an Obelisk. Put him in his place Alexis."

"Ready?"

"You bet."

"Duel," they both said in unison.

Jaden: 4000

Alexis: 4000

"I'll start…. With Etoile Cyber." A ballerina like dancer dressed in a red and bluish suit spun on herself before standing straight (1200). "And I'll also play one card face-down."

"Time to throw down. First I'll summon the Elemental Hero Sparkman." A gold armored man with a blue visor appeared on Jaden's field in a flash of electricity (1600). "Then I'll have him attack your Etoile Cyber with static shockwave." The hero thrust his hand forward and threw a stream of electricity at the female monster.

"Hold it right there. I activate the trap card Double Passe." The electricity flowed around her monster and struck Alexis' disk.

Alexis: 4000-2400

"This changes your monster's attack to a direct attack on me. Then the monster you were about to attack get's to do the same to you." The ballerina started to glide towards Jaden. "Except when Etoile Cyber attacks some directly, she get's a 600 point boost." (1200-1800) Alexis' monster spun on herself and landed a kick on the Slifer.

Jaden: 4000-2200

"You ok dude?"

"I think I'll survive."

"Now then, where were we? I play polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and the Blade Skater in my hand, to summon Cyber Blader." A purple and gray woman with skate blades on her arms and feet appeared on the Obelisk's field and disappeared with her other monster in a whirlwind. When it dissipated, in their place stood a woman dressed in gray and orange, with a visor and skates (2100). "Now attack Sparkman with whirlwind rage." Her new monster spun on herself and slashed the hero with her skate.

Jaden: 2200-1700

"Way to go Lex. I knew this guy didn't have what it takes to win."

"Well it'll be my pleasure to prove you wrong. My turn. I activate the field spell Fusion Gate. With this, I can summon fusion monsters without polymerization. So I'm going to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." Jaden's red and green hero landed in front of him (2100). "Since they both have the same attack points, I'll play the spell card Kishido Spirit. Now my wingman can battle with any monster that has the same points as him and still survive. And with his effect, after he destroys your blader, you lose life-points equal to her attack points. Now go Flame Wingman and attack Cyber Blader." Jaden's hero gathered fire in his dragon hand as he dashed towards his enemy. He slammed it into her and though she cried out, she stayed unharmed. "What? How did she survive?"

"Simple. When my opponent has only one monster, Cyber Blader can't be destroyed in battle."

"But that means…"

"I don't lose any life-points."

"Can't say I expected that."

"Here's something different for you to expect. I equip my Cyber Blader with the spell Fusion Weapon." The skating monster's right hand transformed into an orange trident. (2100-3600 atk, 800-2300 def)

"Guys, you might want to brace yourselves for this one."

"Attack the Flame Wingman with trident shock." Her monster shot a blast of electricity similar to that of Sparkman that hit Jaden's monster head on.

Jaden: 1700-200

"Hope you didn't unpack yet."

"Yeah cause when you lose, it's bye bye." Alexis' friends taunted.

"Oh no!"

"Don't worry Sy, Its not gonna be like that."

"Keep it up Jay." 'Come on, I know you can do it man.'

Jaden looked at his disk for a moment readying himself for what would happen. "Here goes something." He drew he card. "Perfect. I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Sparkman." Jaden's gold armored hero stood up again (1600). "With Fusion Gate still in play, I can combine him with Clayman together to summon the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." The two monsters disappeared and a flash of lighting followed, at which rose a giant man sporting large yellow and white armor (2400).

"In case you didn't notice, my Cyber Blader's attack point are still higher at 3600."

"Maybe so, but by sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, Thunder Giant can destroy one of your monsters whose original attack points are less than his own."

"Original attack points?"

"Attack points before any kind of enhancements. And since your blader only had 2100 attack before Fusion Weapon, she's automatically destroyed." Jaden's monster pointed his finger its opponent vaporized it with a blast of electricity. "And the best part is he still gets to attack. Voltic Thunder." Alexis' disk was then hit by four bolts of lightning.

Alexis: 2400-0

"Yes!"

"Way to go Jaden."

"Looks like that is game."

"Well done. But you're not quite in the clear yet."

"Huh?"

"Remember, Jeremy still has to duel me."

"Oh right. Good luck."

Jeremy and Christine both switched places with their friends and activated their disks.

Jeremy: 4000

Christine: 4000

"Ladies first."

"You're too kind. Just don't think about going easy on me, because I won't return the favor. I'll start things off with Vorse Raider in attack mode ." The beast-warrior appeared on her field. A grin on its face and a wicked axe in its hands (1900). "Then I play 3 cards face-down."

"My turn. I activate Six Samurai United. When a six samurai monster is summoned, it gets a bushido counter. Then I summon the Six Samurai Yaichi." The yellow armored samurai stood up in front of Jeremy (1300). "And since I have a six samurai monster out, I can special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." An old, battle hardened warrior took its place next to the bow wielding monster (2100). "Now I use Yaichi's ability. With another six samurai monster on the field, he can destroy one of your face-down magic or trap cards."

"But you only have one Samurai out."

"Yeah, but any monster with Six Samurai in their name counts as one." Yaichi took an arrow and shot her face-down Negate Attack. "Of course, he can't attack when he uses his ability, but my other monster can. Grandmaster, attack Vorse Raider." He unsheathed his sword and slashed downward across the beast-warrior's chest, which exploded into pixels after.

Christine: 4000-3800

"Then I play one card face-down and that'll be all."

"I play Graceful Charity. So I get to draw 3 cards at the cost of discarding 2. Now I play Fiend's Sanctuary, which summons a metal fiend token." A small gray featureless monster materialized on the field (0). "Next I summon plague wolf (1000)." A rabid, mutated wolf appeared beside the token.

"Nice doggy," Syrus said nervously.

"Thanks to his effect, I can double his original attack until the end of the turn, when he'll be destroyed." Her monster lifted its head and howled at the moon. (1000-2000). "Unfortunately for you, he won't even be around that long."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm about to unleash one my most devastating combinations. First I reveal the Crush Card Virus. To play this, I need to sacrifice a dark attribute monster with 1000 attack or less, like my token. Then all monsters on your side of the field, in your hand and that you draw in the next 3 turns that have 1500 or more attack points are sent to the graveyard." The faceless token exploded, its shards piercing Jeremy's grandmaster and forcing him to discard one of his cards.

"That was only half of it. Now I'll show you my other face-down. The Deck Devastation Virus. Now this card has the same effect as my other one. Except I have to sacrifice a dark monster with a 2000 attack or more, like my powered up Plague Wolf and it destroys all monsters on your field, in your hand and that you draw for 3 turns, provided that they have 1500 or less attack points. The wolf monster howled again before disappearing. Jeremy's last monster left the field at the same time as he discarded his remaining card to the grave.

"Aww man. Now Jeremy has to get rid of all his monsters."

"Good going Christine. There's no way he can get out of this one."

"Now, since I have exactly 3 dark monsters in my grave I can special summon Dark Armed Dragon." A giant black and silver dragon, with spikes on its tail and over it body rose on Christine's field (2800). "And by removing a dark monster in my graveyard, he can destroy one card on the field." Christine's plague wolf ejected from her disk and her dragon shot a spike from its tail, destroying Jeremy's own Negate Attack. "Dark Armed Dragon, attack him directly."

Jeremy looked at his friends behind him. "Uh guys, this might rock the boat a little." He put his arms in front of himself as the dragon's claw passed through him, depleting over half his life-points and stirring their boat, though it managed to stay upright.

Jeremy: 4000-1200

"I'll end my turn with one face-down."

'Whoa that was some move. She really is good.' "Alright then, my turn."

"Don't forget, you still have to send any monsters you draw to the graveyard because of my two viruses."

"Then it's a good thing I didn't get one. And now I'll play Card of sanctity, which forces us both to draw until we each hold six cards in our hands." They both drew the full six cards, Jeremy only having to discard one. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in defense mode." The elven warrior appeared on Jeremy's field, kneeling down (1200).

"Then I'll throw down two more cards and play Soul Release, which lets me remove five cards from either of our graveyards. And I choose Vorse Raider, the two cards you discarded because of Graceful Charity and your two viruses. Now I'm done. And without any dark monsters in your grave, you can't activate your dragon's effect."

"I might not be able to destroy your guardian with him, but you gave me a monster that can. Pitch-Black Warwolf." A black humanoid wolf wearing pieces of armor and holding a curved sword appeared aside the dragon, though it was significantly smaller. "And just so you know, when he's on the field, during the battle phase, you can't activate any traps."

"Then I'll just play it before. I activate Return of the Six Samurai. Like the name suggests, it brings back a Six Samurai monster. And I choose Zanji in defense." The red gold samurai knelt down beside Jeremy's guardian (1300). "And by summoning him, Six Samurai United get's another bushido counter."

"Warwolf, attack his guardian. Dark Armed Dragon, his samurai." Both Jeremy's monster were destroyed. One when he was slashed by a sword, the other by being crushed by the giant dragon's claw. "I end my turn."

"And I begin mine. I play pot of greed to draw two cards. Would you look at that, none are monsters."

"Wow! Jeremy's sure been lucky to draw so few monsters."

"No kidding Jay, he should play the lottery."

"I'll play both face-down and that's all."

"I summon Witch's Apprentice in attack mode." A small woman dressed in blue with white wings coming out of her back, flew down on her broomstick (550). "Thanks to her ability, all dark monsters gain 500 attack points." Christine's new monster threw a pinch of powder in the air that landed on herself and the two monsters on either side. (2800-3300) (1600-2100) (550-1050) "Dark Armed Dragon, finish him."

"Not so fast. Your wolf may stop me from playing traps during battle, but not magic cards. And I've got just the one. I use Book of Moon to flip your warwolf face-down." Christine's beast-warrior was replaced by the image of the back of a card. "Now that his effect's no longer in play I can activate Nutrient Z. Since I'm about to receive over 2000 damage from your monster, this increases my life-points by 4000.

Jeremy: 1200-5200

The silver black dragon struck Jeremy with its claw again.

Jeremy: 5200-1900

"Witch's Apprentice attack." Her smaller monster shot a bolt of magic, taking his life points even further down.

Jeremy: 1900-850

"Nice moves. Nobody's ever lasted that long after I used both my virus cards."

"Thanks. You're the toughest opponent I've faced in a long time."

"And I'm not going to get any less. I'll flip my monster back into attack mode and end my turn with one face-down.

Jeremy discarded the card he drew.

"You've got no cards in your hand left. Looks like your luck has run out."

"Not yet it hasn't. Because by sending Six Samurai United to the graveyard, I get to draw one card for each bushido counter that's been placed on it, which means three."

Jeremy placed his magic card in his grave and drew his cards getting rid of one.

"You'll never win with luck alone," Mindy said.

"It takes luck to draw the right cards, but it takes skills to play them correctly. I reveal my trap, Double-Edged Sword Technique. This lets me summon two Six Samurai monsters from the graveyard in attack mode." Zanji and Yaichi rose up before the army of dark monsters (1800) (1300).

"Then I use Yaichi's ability to destroy your face-down." The yellow samurai drew an arrow and shot Call of the Haunted. "Now normally because of my trap's second effect, both samurais would be destroyed at the end of my turn and I'd take damage equal to their attack points. But instead, I'll use Six Scrolls of the Samurai. So by sacrificing them, I can summon my strongest monster from my deck. Great Shogun Shien."

Jeremy's warriors disappeared and in their place now stood a tall armored warlord. He wore a full set of red armor and a dark blue cape on his back that almost reached his feet. In his fist he held a long, slightly curved sword (2500). "Finally, I'll equip him with United we Stand. Since he's the only monster on my field, he get's 800 attack points (2500-3300). I'll play my last card face-down and end my turn."

"Your monster may have the same points as my dragon, but I'm about to change that. I play my own equip spell, Sword of Dark Rites." A weirdly shaped blade appeared in front of Christine's dragon that seized it in its claw. "This raises the attack of any dark monster by 400 (3300-3700). Destroy his Shogun."

'Time to test my luck again.' "I play my face-down, Spell Textbook. Now I send my entire hand to the graveyard to draw one card and if it's a magic card, I can play it immediately. But as you can see, I have no cards left. So here goes. Yes! I drew Mage Power. This spell gives the equipped monster 500 extra attack points for each magic and trap I've got. With itself and United we Stand, that's 1000 more. (3300-4300) Jeremy's warrior swung his sword upwards and sliced through the dragon's own. He continued until he cut through his enemy's toughened skin.

Christine: 3800-3200

"I switch both my monsters to defense mode and summon Midnight Warrior in attack mode." A man wearing black armor that had twelve straight marks arranged in a circle on his chest plate took the place of her dragon. His armor covered his entire body including his face that was hidden behind a helm. He was strengthened like her other monsters. (1450-1950) "I end with two cards face-down." 'When I activate Zoma the spirit, I'll be able to summon it and if he attacks, with Staunch Defender I can force him to attack Zoma. Of course, when Zoma's destroyed, he'll lose life points equal to the attack of the monster that destroyed it. Even more, if he doesn't attack, my new monster will drain the rest of his life points anyway.'

'That's strange,' Jeremy thought, 'why did she play that in attack mode? My Shogun will take out most of her life-points if he destroys it. Ah well, guess I'll find out.' "I draw."

"And I activate Zoma the spirit. When it's activated, it get's summoned in defense mode." A gruesome purple zombie crouched along with Christine's other different creatures (500). "And it still get's a power boost thanks to my witch (1800-2300). Now you're probably wondering why I played Midnight Warrior. You see, as long as he's in attack mode, during your standby phase, you take 200 points of damage for each dark monster on the field. I count four. So you lose 800 points." A dagger shot out from between the marks on the chest plate of Christine's warrior and struck Jeremy's duel disk.

Jeremy: 850-50

"Oh no! Jeremy's almost out of life-points left." Syrus' voice was flooded with panic.

"Don't worry Syrus, he can still get out of this one."

'With only 50 life-points left, I've got to make this turn count'. Jeremy looked at his card seeing he drew Shein's Footsoldier. 'Hey good to see you buddy. Ready to come out?' He almost would have sworn that it nodded to him. "Since your viruses have worn off, I don't have to discard my monsters. Meaning I can summon Shien's Footsoldier in attack mode." A lightly armored monkey with a spear stood next to Jeremy's Shogun (700).

"That little monster is going to help you win?" Christine asked doubtfully.

"Well to start, since I have another monster face-up, United we Stand gives Great Shogun Shien 800 more attack points (4300-5100). Sure my new monster may not be the toughest one around, but neither is Witch's Apprentice." Jeremy's monster ran on his hands and feet with its spear held by his tail.

"I reveal Staunch Defender." Christine's face-down card moved a little but refused to activate.

"I guess I forgot to tell you, my shogun's ability makes it so you can only use one magic or trap card per turn and you already played Zoma the Spirit."

"No way!"

The monkey warrior jumped in the air and grabbed its spear in one hand. At the apex of his jump, he hurled it at the broom riding spellcaster thus defeating her.

"Now your monsters all lose 500 attack points. (2100-1600) (1950-1450) Great Shogun Shien, wipeout her Midnight Warrior and her life points.

Jeremy's strongest monster rushed forward and obliterated Christine's giving him the victory.

Sherry: 3200-0

"Sweet duel Jeremy."

"Yeah, now we're free to go."

"Well it was fun and all, but we'd better get going now."

"Later girls." Jaden waved at them.

The four Obelisk girls watched as the three Slifer students made their way back to their dorm. "What did you think about that Alexis?"

"It was fun." She lowered her voice so only Christine could her. "And between you and me, I could never have turned them in. This place will be a lot better with them than without."

Not everyone was happy at the moment. "Impossible. Two Obelisk students both defeated by mere Slifers, pff, lucky brats." Crowler mumbled. "They may have gotten out of it this time, but I'll still find a way to expel them. After I find my way home."

* * *

Hope you all liked it. Please review if you have comments, questions or anything to say. Christine, in case you didn't know, is actually Kaiba's daughter. For her mother, just picture someone who looks like Kisara (the spirit of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon). That idea comes from The Duelist of Dawn. Also I don't know if the videogame that Jaden and Jeremy played is real (the name just came to me).

Midnight Warrior

Atk/Def: 1450/1700

Lv: 4

Type: Warrior

Attr: Dark

Effect: If this card is in face-up attack mode during your opponent's standby phase, inflict 200 points of damage to them for each dark attribute monster on the field.

(This card was made up by yours truly, me)

I actually made an error in this chapter which was corrected after The Duelist of Dawn pointed it out.


	6. What Goes Around Comes Around

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh Gx. Duh!

A couple of chapter's ago I said that I wouldn't take the time to really write the original duels. I changed my mind since then. And I also decided that I was going to make the chapters a little more detailed.

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* * *

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**What Goes Around Comes Around**

The ocean surounding Duel Academy was relatively calm this morning. A group of seagulls were sitting in the water. They stayed in their place until they spotted a ship a short distance away. Realizing that it was coming in their direction, they spread their wings and flew out of it's path. As it passed through, it split the water in front, sending waves to the side.

"Attention all crew members. This is your captain speaking. Now I know it's been a long journey, with everything that's happened so far. But, all our hard work is about to pay off. We're about to reach our final objective and with the pay load safe." The captain held a metal briefcase in his hand with Duel Academy's logo on the side. "So full steam ahead men. This is the moment's we've been waiting for. The moment Duel Academy get's their new rare cards.

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* * *

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On Academy Island itself, the sun had already risen and illuminated the environment. In the Slifer's dorm, more specifically, the room belonging to Syrus, Chumley, Jaden and Jeremy, the four boys were sleeping. With the exception of Syrus. He sat at a desk his eyes, fixed on a poster of Slifer the Sky Dragon. He held his hands together as if he was praying. "Please, please, please help me ace my exam today. Or I'll be stuck wearing this red jacket forever. Not that there's anything wrong with red of course. It looks great on you Slifer, but I wan't to be in Ra Yellow. Please give me a sign that you'll help." Syrus jumped out of his seat in fright as the alarm clock rang loudly.

"Slifer! Oh right. It's just the alarm. And of course Jaden and Jeremy sleep right throught it." The two boys were snoring, seemingly unaffected by the noise around them. Syrus walked over to Jaden's bunk. "How is it that they're so relaxed when there's so much at stake. He grabbed his shoulder and shook it a little. "Jaden wake up. If you miss these tests, you'll never advance to the next dorm."

"Wrong! Cause I played a trap." Jaden stuck out his arm and sent Syrus to the floor. Despite his movements, he was still asleep.

"Why can't he ever be dreaming in defense mode when I wake him up?"

"Go Shogun, attack that monster." Syrus looked in Jeremy's direction only to see him grab the alarm clock and throw it in his direction. He dropped flat on the floor and the clock sailed over him and hit the wall. Like Jaden, Jeremy was still sleeping.

"You know Syrus, after the written test, there's the field test. And it would be totally lishus for both of us if they slept right through it. You get what I'm saying?"

"Chumley, I hardly ever understand anything that you say."

"The field test is where they pit class members against each other in a duel. And I really don't wan't to duel the guys who beat Dr. Crowler. So if we let them sleep in, then well have a better chance of winning. Now do you get it?"

"Yeah I get it. And I'm starting to see why you were held back two years. Guys, get out of bed, we're already late. I'll save you seats. Hurry!" At that Syrus got up and ran out the door.

Even as he was running towards the academy's main building, Syrus was still studying. 'Ok cram time. Let's see. A normal trap can counter a normal spell, a quick-play spell can beat a ritual spell and-' His thoughts were interupted when he tripped on his shoelaces. "A double knot beats a single knot."

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Later, Jaden and Jeremy got out of bed and were running to get to the classroom and take the test. "Man, Chumley sure can cook."

"You're telling me. Best I've had in a while." As they ran, they saw a woman ahead trying to push a minivan up the slope. "Pardon me, Coming through," they both said.

The two boys stopped in their tack after going be her. "Wait a minute. Should we be gentlemen or be on time?" Jaden asked.

"I think the answer to that's pretty obvious Jay. Since when are we ever on time?"

"Then let's go!" They both ran back to the woman and got behind the van to push. "Never fear."

"The J team's here."

"Oh thank you. You boys must be from the auto club."

"Nah. We're just your every day good deed guys."

"You're so nice."

"No problem, it's our pleasure. Hey Jeremy, 'J team'?"

"I just thought it sounded cool." With their help she eventually managed to get the vehicule to the academy's main building.

"Thank you so much for helping me. I'll be sure to remember this."

"Don't worry, we're just glad we could help. Later."

* * *

Inside the classroom, the students sat in silence doing the test under the supervision of Professor Banner. "You now have 45 minutes to finish your test."

Syrus sat in the middle of the students, mumbling in his sleep. "Which counters a field spell. Which counters..."

"I didn't know this was an oral exam Sy." He woke with a start and saw Jaden and Jeremy standing next to him.

"Maybe next time you'd be better off getting a good night's sleep, instead of staying up praying to Slifer," Jeremy said jokingly.

"You guys finally made it."

"You three want to keep it down?" The looked behind them upon hearing Chazz's voice. "Some of us are planning to actually pass this test."

"Hey I always plan on passing, is just doesn't always work out that way."

"Yeah! Same thing Jaden said."

"Oh Jaden, Jeremy. How about you both come down here and get your exams?"

"Sure thing professor."

"Be right there."

'They'd better be,' Alexis thought. 'We already started 15 minutes ago. They'll be lucky if they manage to finish.'

'Look at them,' Bastiong spoke silently. 'Tardy, puerile, if only they applied themselves they could be great duelists.'

Christine looked at them as they made their way to their seats. 'It's a pity they aren't as good at this as they are at dueling.'

A while after, Jaden and Jeremy, along with Syrus were leaning against each other and snoring lightly. Crowler was eyeing them through a small crack in the doors. 'You may be able to dream your way through the written exam, but with what I have planned, the field test will be a nightmare.'

* * *

At the end of the time period, Professor Banner finally announced it was over. "All right class. The written exam is over. You may now walk, but not run, to get in line for today's new rare cards.

"They're here!?" one of the students asked.

"Oh dear."

They all ran out of the classroom, eager to get their hands on the new cards. Bastion stood next to the three Slifer boys, attempting to awaken them. "Say. you might want to give some serious thought to waking up."

Syrus jumped from the surprise. "Ahh man! I flunked didn't I? I'm a complete failure."

"Sy, if we were graded on melodrama you'd get a perfect score."

Jeremy suddenly realized that they were alone. "Hey where's everybody else?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. The new cards arrived today and everyone's at the card shop."

"What!? New cards!? Why didn't anyone tell us?"

"Because everyone want's the best cards for themselves. To use in the upcoming field test."

"Then why aren't you getting any?"

"Please, one card out of place and my deck's structure would be completely off balance."

"Mine sure wouldn't."

"Then let's go. There's nothing sweeter than the smell of new cards in the morning. Thanks for telling us about it." The Slifers took off running towards the card shop. When they arrived, no one was there except a girl behind the counter. "Huh? Where'd everyone go?"

"They couldn't have..."

"RUN OUT OF CARDS ALREADY!!!" They rushed to the counter.

"Excuse me counter girl? There's still some cards left right?" Jaden asked.

"Of course there are. The rares are gone but we have regular packs left." She slid one over to them. "Here you go."

"WE SAID SOME, NOT ONE!!!"

"Ahh man! I'm done for. I slept through my written test and now I'm going to fail my field test cause I can't upgrade my deck."

"Then take the pack Syrus."

"Really? You'd let me take the last pack? What about you Jeremy?"

"I'll be fine without it."

"Are you guys sure about this? I mean, this is the last pack."

"There's no reason to worry Sy. Right Jay?"

"You said it Jeremy."

"Yoo hoo. Auto club." Besides the counter girl now stood the woman Jaden and Jeremy had helped earlier.

"Hi. You work here too?"

"Oh no, I don't work here, I own here. Cool huh?"

"No. That's not cool, that's totally awesome!"

"You guys know her?"

"Yeah. We helped her out on our way here."

"Here, I have something for you. Now I know we're officially out of cards, but I did hide away a few, for polite young students like yourselves." She reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out two packs. She handed one to Jaden and Jeremy. "Maybe you can put them to some good use. Just call it a thank you for helping me."

"Thanks. But I'm afraid we didn't catch your name."

"It's Dorothy."

"Nice to meet you Dorothy. Come on Jay, Sy. We should had for the gym."

* * *

Elsewhere in Duel Academy, Chazz was walking through the halls with a couple of his fellow Obelisks. "And then this guy shows up and takes all the new cards. I mean every one."

"So we couldn't get you any Chazz. Sorry."

"You guys are too obsesed with rare cards." Chazz and his followers looked around and saw another Obelisk leaning against the wall. He had short brown hair, blue eyes and stood about as tall as Chazz.

"Oh! Hey Erik. What are you doing around here?"

"Just hanging about. You know I heard that you almost lost to Jaden."

"And you actually did lose against his friend."

"If either of you is looking to get back at them, then we may be able to help each other." The four blue students traced the new voice to a person standing at the top of the stairs.

"That's the guy who took all the rare cards."

"Cards? What cards? Oh! You mean these cards." The person opened up their coat, revealing rows of cards held inside.

"Talk about having a card up your sleeve."

"What's wrong? Don't you regognize me? How about now?" He pulled back his hood to show his face.

"Crowler!?"

"You know you looked better all covered up." Erik smirked at Chazz comment.

"Yes, well I have a plan that will make us all look better. And make those two Slifers look like the cut rate duelists they really are. I want you two to be their opponents for their field tests. And to use these rare cards to beat them."

"But we're not in the same dorm. They won't let us be their test opponents."

"They? I am they. I'll make it happen. You just make sure to use these rare cards to put those Slifers in their places in front of the entire academy."

"All right then, I'm in."

"Me too."

* * *

The field tests were starting in the school gym. Jaden and Jeremy went to go wait in the stands for their names to be called. "Hello boys," Crowler said behind them.

"Hey doc. What's up."

"Just wantd to let you know that I've arranged for the both of you to duel special opponents worthy of your talents. I certainly hope you managed to grab a lot of today's rare cards so your decks' are up to date."

Christine frowned as she overhead him. 'If this was anymore obvious, he'd have 'trap' written all over his face.'

"Cool!"

"So who are these special opponents?"

"We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now, would we? You'll just have to wait for your turn."

_"Jaden Yuki, please come down for your field test."_

"It looks like it's your turn Jaden." Crowler his his laughter behind his hand.

"You go Jay. Knock em dead."

"Good luck."

"Thanks guys. I'll be done before you know it."

Jaden reached the gym floor and stood facing Chazz. "So you're my opponent then. Good, now we can finish off what we started at Obelisk Arena."

"And this time you can't back out."

The duelists inserted their decks into their disks and activated them. "Duel," they both said.

"No excuses this time Chazz."

"Bring it Slifer slacker."

Jaden: 4000

Chazz: 4000

"Oh it is brought." Jaden drew his five cards along with another which turned out to be Winged Kuriboh. 'Hey there Kuriboh, you're in for a treat. You're in for a treat. We're about to show off some serious skills.' "Remember this guy Chazz? Elemental Hero Clayman." A big human like stone figure with a red head knelt int front of Jaden with it's arms crossed. (2000) "He'd like to get requainted."

Chazz smirked and chuckled to himself. "Don't start thinking that oversized pile of pebbles had a chance against me Jaden, or against this. Meet Magical Mallet."

"What's that?"

"A redo. All the cards in my hand that I don't want, I put back in my deck. Then I shuffle and draw the same amount again. Pretty cool, don't you think?"

"What!? A rare card on the first draw!?"

"And a dangerous one too. Now Chazz can essentially pick which cards he wants and which he doesn't."

"That's not good for Jaden."

"I haven't gotten to the best part. I got to reshuffle Magical Mallet. So if I draw it again, which I just did, I can play it again and again. And that comes in handy when I'm looking for this. V-Tiger Jet." A yellow and green machine resembling a tiger appeared on Chazz's field. (1600) "And there's a lot more where that came from. Check out the magic of Frontline Base. It let's me summon a level four or below union monster this turn. Such as W-Winged Catapult." Another machine appeared beside the first. It was blue and had slots to shoot rockets from. (1300) "Now I merge them together to create the VW-Tiger Catapult." The tiger machine flew up and landed on top of the Winged Catapult. (2000) "But I'm not done yet. He's still got his special ability."

"That can't be good."

"You're right. Because by sending a card to the graveyard, I can force your monster into attack mode." Jaden's Clayman rose from it's crouching position. (800) "So after this heat seeker blitz from my Tiger Catapult, your life-points are toast." Chazz's monster shot a series of rockets that landed around and on Clayman.

Jaden: 4000-2800

"I'll finish up with one card face-down."

"Go ahead and finish up, cause I'm just getting warmed up. Speaking of, here's someone who can really turn up the heat. Elemental Hero Sparkman, in defense mode." The golden armored electric hero appeared before Jaden in a flash of electricity. (1400) "And I'll throw down a face-down."

"Now much else he can do with all the new rares Chazz seems to have."

"It's just not fair."

"He'll pull it off somehow."

"Ready for round two you Slifer Slime? Well X-Head Cannon is." A blue and yellow humanoid machine appeared in front of Chazz. It had two shoulder cannons, two arms and it's waist ended in a spiked ball. (1800) "And thanks to Frontline's magic, so is Z-Metal Tank." A yellow machine shaped like the bottom of a tank settled close to the others.

"No way!"

"X and Z? Aww man, that can only mean one thing."

"Now I play my face down card, Call of the Haunted. In case you slept through that class, it let's me bring a monster back from the graveyard. Like the Y-Dragon Head I discarded for my my Tiger Catapult's effect." A red dragon machine came back from the grave. "Now I combine them all to create XYZ-Dragon Cannon." The metal dragon attached itself to the top of the yellow tank. It's wings came off as the remaining machine landed on top of it. (2800)

"Now Chazz has over two monsters with 2000 and 2800 attack points."

"I sort of figured that one out by myself, Bastion Obvious," Jeremy commented.

"But wait Jaden, there's more. Actually less. Sure, they say two is better than one, but I'm gonna have to disagree. Especially when the one in question, is the ultimate V to Z Dragon Catapult Cannon." Both machines broke apart and their pieces flew around each other. When they were settled, a new giant monster stood in their place. It had the tiger's feet and it's legs were made of the Winged Catapult. At it's waist level stuck out the dragon's head and it's body consisted of X-Head Cannon with the two guns sticking from it's chest. The arms were made from the yellow tank and it's head was covered with the tiger's face. Red wings came out of it's back and a tail of the same color underneath. (3000) "Makes your Sparkman look like a heap of sparkplugs. Or at least it did." Jaden's monster suddenly disappeared.

"Hey! My Sparkman!"

"Oh I'm sorry, didn't I mention V to Z's special ability? He can remove one card on your side of the field once per turn. And if you think that's impressive, just wait until you see his attack. An attack that will strike your life-points directly."

"Don't think so Chazz, I have a trap. A Hero Emerges."

"A hero what?"

"Emerges. As in emerges on to the field. Cause now you randomly pick a card in my hand and if it's a monster, I get to summon it. So take your pick, Chazz."

"Whatever. The far right."

"Sweet! Elemental Hero Burstinatrix. I'll play her in defense mode." The red clad female hero kneeled down with her arms in front of her. (800)

"Yes! I knew he'd have a backup plan."

"Perhaps, but how effective will it be?" Bastion questioned Jeremy's optimism.

"She won't be defending you for long. When Dragon Catapult Cannon attacks, I get to choose your monster's mode. And you know what? I choose attack mode. So not only will she be zapped, but so will your life-points." Chazz's monster leveled it's cannons at the female hero. As it shot a blast at her, she rose from her couching position. (1200) The shot struck her dead center and she cried out from the impact.

Jaden: 2800-1000

"What's the matter Jaden? Having some test anxiety? Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

"Oh no it won't! My deck's still armed and ready to get at you. This isn't over yet. It's just barely started. My turn!" Jaden looked at his new card. It was one he'd gotten from the pack Dorothy had given him. What do you think Winged Kuriboh?"

"_Coo!"_

"Well allright. If you say so. Let's do it. I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode." Jaden's little furry monster with wings floated in front of him. Most of the girls in the audience squealed at how cute it was. "And I'll throw down a face-down too. That's it."

"That's it. But all he's been playing is defense."

"Come on Syrus, he's probably got something planned," Jeremy tried to reassure him.

'I sure hope you know what you're doing Jaden' Alexis worried.

"All done huh? Good, cause now I can cook that Kuriboh and I like mine well done. There's about to be a fried furball on the field ya loser!"

"You don't scare me."

"No big deal. I don't have to, that's his job. Dragon Catapult Cannon attack." As the blast flew towards Jaden, he readied himself for it.

'Ok, time to test my newest weapon.' "I sacrifice two cards and activate Transcendant Wings." The little monster expanded in a flash of light. It was now larger, had a golden headpiece shaped like a dragon and wide white wings coming from it's side. The blast surrounded the new monster but didn't destroy it.

"Ahh! It can't be!"

"Oh it be. Transcendant Wings evolves Winged Kuribon into a level ten monster. And it get's better too. By sacrificing himself, Kuriboh destroys all monsters in attack mode and deflects their attack points back as damage to you. Kuriboh, why don't you show him how it's done?" The energy surrounding Kuriboh converged in front of him and shot back at the enemy machine.

Chazz: 4000-1000

"Lucky punk!"

"Lucky? Nah. I just happen to have a soft spot for old ladies, but not for you Chazz. And that's too bad, cause with a thousand life-points each and my turn coming up, all I need is the right monster and you'll be finished. Here goes something. Yes! Elemental Hero Avian." The green hero with wings appeared on Jaden's field. (1000) "Attack!" He flew towards Chazz and slashed him with his claws, knocking him down to his knees.

Chazz: 1000-0

"Yay! Jaden did it!"

"Told you he would Syrus."

"That's game! Unless you want to duel again Chazz."

"Oh, we will."

"_Jeremy Wheeler, please come down for your field test._"

"Looks like it's my time to shine."

"Good luck." 'Somehow I have a feeling that Crowler has something similar in store for Jeremy as well.'

"Thanks Bastion."

* * *

Jeremy went down to the gym floor at the field that Jaden had previously dueled. Opposite him stood Erik. "Hi Erik. Ready for a rematch?"

"You'd better believe it. But this time things will turn out differently."

"Let's get started then." Both duelists activated their disks and drew five cards.

"I start things off, with Prohibition. Now I name one card and as long as this it out, neither of us can play it. And I choose The Six Samurai Kamon. Then I'll follow up with another Prohibition. And for this one, I'll pick The Six Samurai Yaichi."

"This isn't good for Jeremy."

"What do you mean Bastion? He's still got loads of monsters."

"What I mean Jaden, is that he relies on those two samurais to destroys his opponent's magic and traps cards. And now he can't."

"Aww man!"

"Now I play Sword of Revealing Light." Swords of light surrounded Jeremy. "With this, you can't attack for the next three turns. I'll play one card face-down and that's it."

"Allright, my turn. And I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode." A man wielding two swords and wearing pieces of armor, along with a cape appeared on behind the swords of light. "Now I'll use his effect to bring out The Six Samurai Nisashi." His green samurai took it's place beside the other warrior. (1400) "That ends my turn."

"I play pot of greed. And then the field spell Land of Magic." The air around Erik became darker and a giant stone tablet littered with strange runes appeared behind him. "Now if either of us has no monsters on the field, this let's us play or set spells in our monster card zones. Then I'll activate Spell Economics. So now I don't have to pay any life-points for magic cards. Like this one, Delinquant Duo. This let's me randomly send a card from your hand to the graveyard, then it forces you to do the same." Jeremy reluctently placed the two selected cards in his grave. "And that ends my turn."

"I summon The Six Samurai Zanji." The red gold samurai rose next to the green one. (1800) "That's all for now."

"I play Card of Demise. So I get to draw until I hold five cards, but in five standby phases, I send my entire hand to the graveyard. Then I play Card Destruction. With this we ditch our hands and draw the same number of cards from our decks. Also, I'll reveal my face-down Disgraceful Charity. For this turn, all cards discarded come back to our hands. I'll finish up by playing two more cards face-down."

"I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode." The elven swordsman stood with the warrior army amassed. "I'll play one face-down and pass things over to you."

"This is just weird. Erik hasn't even summoned a single monster and Jeremy has four out. If he doesn't play one soon, he'll get wiped out when his swords wear off."

"He must have something up his sleave Jaden." 'And it'll most likely bode ill for Jeremy.'

"Ready to be devastated slacker?"

"By what? You don't have any monsters, unless you've got a super powerful magic card."

"As it happens, I do have a magic card that might not be all that powerful, but it still packs a pretty big punch. I reveal one of my face-downs, Final Destiny. To activate it, I need to ditch five cards in my hand and then it clears the field of all monsters, spells and traps." A bomb dropped in the middle of the field. The resulting blast tore through Jeremy's warriors, blew away the stone tablet and the darkness and destroyed all the other spells and traps.

"Not cool!" Jeremy's eyes were widened at the sight of his field wiped clean.

"And I'm now done yet. Because my other face-down was Jar of Avarice. When it's sent from my field to the grave, I can take upto five magic and trap cards from my graveyard, shuffle them into my deck, then draw two cards. And if I have no cards out, I get to draw another. Since I got back Spell Economics, I can play it again. Now I activate Soul Release. Which let's me remove five cards from either grave. I pick the five monster I sent to mine for Final Destiny. Then I play Dimension Fusion. By paying 2000 life-points, we both summon monsters that are removed from play, but Spells Economics eliminates that cost."

"Oh oh! Erik just removed five monster from play."

"So meet my three Batterymen AA, Cyber-Tech Alligator and the Perfect Machine King." Three batteries with heads and limbs appeared from a hole in the air. They were followed by a tall cyborg alligator and a humanoid red and white machine. (0)x3 (2500) (2700)

"This really isn't good. Erik has an army of monsters and Jeremy doesn't have any."

"Now every Batteryman AA gains 1000 attack point seeing as they're all in attack mode." Electricity coursed through them. (0-3000)x3 "And then Perfect Machine King get's 500 points more for each other machine on the field." (2700-3200) "Now who should attack first? How about my frist Batteryman AA?"

"Hold it right there! I send Shadow of the Six Samurai from my hand to the grave to reduce all my damage this turn to zero." The shadow of a warrior rose from the ground. It blocked the blast of electricity coming towards Jeremy. "That only buys you one more turn."

"Whew! That was a close one."

"Yes. It seems strange that he's got so many rare cards like Chazz did."

"Don't worry guys. Jeremy had some good cards too. He'll make it through."

'Come one Jeremy. You were good enought to beat me and I know you can win again.'

"I activate Card of Sanctity. So we both draw until we have six cards each in our hands." 'Hey! I got these two cards from the pack that Dorothy gave me. Combined with my samurais, they might let me win.' "I play four cards face-down and summon Chamberlain of the Six Samurai in defense mode." The warrior with metal arms and legs sat before Jeremy. He was in an indian courching position, with his sword held in front of him. "That ends my turn."

"I play Trap Booster. And by discarding one card, I can play a trap from my hand. Like DNA Surgery. Now all monsters become machines." The three Batterymen and the defending warrior were covered in a gray metallic color. "With more machines comes more points for my Perfect Machine King." (3200-5200) "And I'll also give him 400 more and the power to do damage through monsters in defense mode thanks to Big Bang Shot." (5200-5600) "Attack with rocket booster fist."

The human like monster's right hand shot towards Jeremy's chamberlain. "I reveal Mirror Force. Since your monsters are all in attack mode, they all get destroyed." A glass barrier appeared around the defending monster.

"Oh no they won't. From my hand I play My Body as a Shield. When you play a card whose effect destroys one or more monsters, this negates and destroys it." The flying fist crashed through the barrier and slammed the warrior turned into a machine.

Jeremy: 4000-400

"Of course he loses a few points." (5600-5100) "But my other monsters have more than enough to take you down." The Cyber-Tech Alligator picked up the three batteries in one of it's claws. It dashed forward, it's hand glowing with electricity.

"Go Negate Attack!" A gust of wind pushed back the machines.

"Fine then. I play Mechanical Surgery. Now for every machine I've got, my life-points go up by 400."

Erik: 4000-6000

"I'll play this face-down and end my turn."

"I reveal the trap Backs to the Wall. First, I pay all my life-points but 100 of them."

Jeremy: 400-100

"Then I summon all the six samurai monsters in my graveyard." The samurais Zanji, Kamon, Nisashi, Yaichi and the chamberlain stood tall before Erik's monsters. (1800) (1500) (1400) (1300) (200)

"They're still machine types because of DNA Surgery, which powers up Perfect Machine King even further." (5100-7600)

"But not for long, cause I'm using Kamon's effect to blow up your trap. And that isn't a metaphor." The samurai in question threw a stick of dynamite at Erik's trap. The monsters affected then regained ther original colors and the Perfect Machine King lost some points. (7600-3600) "Then I play the spell Allied Forces. Since I have five warriors on my field, they all gain one thousand attack points." (1800-2800) (1500-2500) (1400-2400) (1300-2300) (200-1200) "Now I'll use Yaichi's effect to destroy your face-down."

"I'll activate it first. Rare Metalmorph. With it, one of my machines gains 500 attack. And I pick Cyber-Tech Alligator." (2500-3000) Yaichi's arrow fell short of the now activated trap.

"Anyway, I reveal my last face-down, Breakthrough. So I select one of my samurais, like Zanji and if he happens to destroy a monster in battle, all the others can attack you directly."

"What is he thinking? None of Jeremy's samurais can beat Erik's monsters. Even with Allied Forces."

"Come on Sy. There must be a reason he did that."

"For all the good it'll do you. Your strongest samurai still needs over 200 extra attack points to beat my weakest monsters."

"Actually, 200 is all he needs. Which he'll get courtesy of Legendary Ebon Steed." The black warhorse appeared beside the mentioned monster who mounted it. (2800-3000) "And apart from giving him a boost, it can save him from being destroyed by taking the hit for him. Now charge one of his battery monsters!" The mounted warrior galloped towards one of the Batterymen AA. His steed was destroyed by electricity, but he impaled his enemy with his weapon at the same time. "Now your two remaining ones do lose some points and so does Zanji." (3000-2000)x2 (3000-2800) "But that's irrelevant, cause my next attacks are coming straight for you. Nisashi attack." The green samurai threw one of his swords which connected with Erik's duel disk.

Erik: 6000-3600

"And just to remind you, he can attack twice. But this time he's not alone. Nisashi, Chamberlain, go get him. Double samurai strike." Both warriors bypassed Erik's monsters and struck him with their swords. The force behind their blows caused him to fall on his back.

Erik: 3600-0

"What!? They can't both have lost! Not with all the rare cards I gave them."

"Rare cards? What exactly are you talking about Crowler?"

"Umm... nothing. I have to go grade some tests."

"That was a really sweet duel. Way better that out last one. Those were some cool cards you had by the way."

"Thanks, I guess. But don't start thinking that we're done yet."

"I'll be waiting for another rematch. Till next time then."

* * *

At the end of the tests, Chancellor Sheppard's voice spoke through the loudspeakers. "I'd like to congratulate Jaden and Jeremy for their wonderful performances. Not in the history of our revered academy has a Slifer ever duelled an Obelisk during these exams. Not only did you hold your own, but, you won. Such courage against overwhelming odds is inspiring. It is with great pleasure that I grant you promotion to Ra Yellow. Good job!"

"Ra Yellow? You guys are the best."

"What did you expect?"

"I do what I can."

"Good show. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Ra dorm."

"Thanks Bastion," they each said as they shook his hand.

* * *

Later in the Slifer dorm, Syrus and Chumley were in their room. "How does this sound? Roommate wanted. No one named Chazz. Rares cards' a plus. Come on Syrus. What's with you?"

"I just thought they'd say goodbye before leaving. That's all I wanted."

Jaden and Jeremy entered at that moment. " Hey guys."

"How's it hanging?"

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Just wanted to congratulate you on passing your field test."

"And last I checked, we live here."

"Sure Ra Yellow's nice with their clean sheets,"

"lack of cockroaches,"

"and those cool blazers. But without you Syrus, it's just not the same."

"Oh really?" Syrus hugged Jaden, crying on him.

"Come on. You're getting my jacket soaked."

"I thought that I'd lost you forever." Jeremy laughed as Jaden tried to push him away. He did when someone knocked on the door. Jeremy opened it and standing outside were two men carrying a bed for one person.

"Are you Jeremy Wheeler?"

"Yup that's me!"

"Here's you new bed." Jeremy took his stuff off of his mattress at which the two movers took it out and put the bed in its place. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

"What was that all about?" Syrus asked.

"I just made one little request to Sheppard." Jeremy lay down on his new bed. "And man does this ever feel nice."

* * *

Thank you for taking the time to read it. Hope you liked it. Please review if you have any comments, suggestions, requests or are just pointing out a mistake I made. The next chapter might take a while since I'll be taking a break before starting to work on it. And I do most of it on paper first and then type it on the computer.

The following cards were created by the incredible, the intelligent the all powerful (drumroll) ME!

Land of Magic

Field Spell

Effect: When either player has no monster on their field, they may set or activate spell cards in their monster card zones.

Image: A gray stone tablet with runes all over it with a dark background.

Jar of Avarice

Normal Spell

Effect: When this card is destroyed and sent to your graveyard, you can select upto five spell cards in your graveyard, shuffle them into your deck and draw two cards. If there are no cards on your field, you may draw an additional card.

Image: A big red jar with a goofy face and a long tongue sticking out

Mechanical Surgery

Normal Spell

Efect: Increase your life-points by 400 for every machine type monster you control.

Image: Four short robots about to preform surgery on a patient lying on a hospital bed.


	7. The Shadow Realm Returns Part 1

Disclaimer: I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't own Yugioh Gx.

Note: I combined episode 1 with most of episode 2 for this chapter.

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**The Shadow Realm Returns – Part 1**

It was a dark and gloomy night. The moon hung over Duel Academy, though it was obscured by the clouds that diminished the light that reached the island. In a more remote part of the island within the forest, was an old, creepy and abandoned building. It had broken windows, vines creeping up its walls and other signs showing that no one had lived in it for a long time. Despite its condition, it still stood from end to end. At the gate in front, was a blue clad girl, holding a rose in her hand. Alexis looked at the building with a look of sorrow on her face. She then took a step forward and laid the rose on the ground before the gate. 'Be at peace brother. Wherever you are.'

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Slifer Red dorm, Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley were sitting around a table in the common room. They had a single candle lit on the table as well as a stack of duel monster cards and were telling scary stories. "And underneath the full moon, I see a path to a cavern that seems... abandoned," Syrus spoke.

"Whoa really? Then what?" Jeremy asked.

"Then at the back of the cavern, I see a mysterious lake. So I go in to look very carefully and under just the right angle of light... At the very bottom of the lake, beyond my reflection, I see a rare and powerful card. Naturally I go to grab it, but when I reach for it, an arm shoots out, grabs me and begins to pull me into the lake. Ahhhhhhh! Help me! Not the water, anything but the water!" Syrus had been so immersed in his story that he had his arms in the air, waving them around as if he were really drowning.

"Water's not that scary," Jaden commented.

"Uhh? Dirty swamp water? Ohh you're right. Only a chump would be scared of that." Chumley was out of his seat, hugging the wall in fright.

"Still it was a good story for the level you got. Now let's see what I get." Jeremy drew a card from the pile, getting Berfomet. "Let me think for a second." While Jeremy considered what to say, Chumley made his way back to his chair. "All right I got one. Long ago, in the time when the islands of Japan were still young, there lived a strong and powerful warrior who defended them against all their enemies. But one time, a huge army tried to take over their land. They came at them with overwhelming numbers, bloodthirsty creatures out of nightmares and magic forbidden by all other nations." Syrus and Chumley stared at him with wide eyes, while Jaden looked with interest.

"Japan's armies were almost completely annihilated, but the brave warrior never gave up. He gathered all the people who were left that could fight and marched against the invading army. They fought for three days, men, women and creatures dying all around the warrior, until he reached the enemy leader. He was a huge giant, blood running from his mouth and carrying a big sword. Despite that, he engaged him without hesitation. After a fierce battle, the mighty warrior killed the giant and his army crumbled with him gone. But the fight had left him scared so much so that he fell to the ground in his victory. But before he did, his soul split into six fragments. And from those fragments, rose the Six Samurai who took his place." The three other boys remained quiet as he finished his story.

"Cool! Where'd you learn that one?" Jaden asked.

"When I got my first Six Samurai cards, I was also told the story of where they came from."

"Nice! I think we've been getting too many lower level cards. Let's see if I can get a high one." Jaden flipped the top card and revealed the Sinister Serpent.

"Ahh you lucked out. You hardly have to scare us at all with that low card."

"All right. Well I think I have a story that'll do the trick. Actually, it's more like a memory. Back when I was a kid, I used to hear sounds. But I'd only hear them really late at night. I'd think I was dreaming, but then... They sounded like voices, but not ones I recognized. I would go to check it out, except whenever I did, there was nothing, nothing at all. Just my cards."

"And?" Syrus and Chumley leaned forward expectantly.

"And that's the end of the story."

"That's too weird. It's actually happened to me when I was a kid too."

"You're not joking Jeremy?" He shook his head. "Whoa! But you want hear something strange? Lately, I've started hearing them again."

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Hey I want to join in on the fright fest." Banner's voice spoke loudly near the four Slifer students. Chumley ran to the wall again, Syrus fell off his chair and Jeremy teetered on the edge of his before falling backwards. Only Jaden remained sitting, although he was no less surprised.

"You just did!"

"We're kind of on the edge of our seats here."

"Or at least we were a second ago." Syrus and Jeremy got up and sat on their chairs again. "But since you're here why don't you draw a card? The tougher it is, the scarier your story has to be," Syrus explained.

"Oh well that certainly seems simple enough. Let's see here." Banner flipped a card his with hand, the other holding Pharaoh against him. It turned out to be F.G.D.

"Whoa! That's a level twelve monster."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go to bed now."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. What's wrong? Don't you want to hear about the abandoned dorm at the end of the island?"

"Abandoned dorm?"

"Yes. Not many people talk about it, but there was once a special dorm set at the edge of the forest. It was shut down after several students mysteriously disappeared."

Syrus gulped. "Where'd they all go?"

"Well that's the mystery of it. But the rumor was that it had something to do with shadow games."

"Thanks! You can stop now." Chumley was away from the table, apparently still frightened.

"You see kids, shadow games are duels played with powerful mystical items."

"Millennium Items right?" Jaden sounded almost bored. "I've heard about this, but it's not true."

"I don't know Jay. I've heard pretty convincing stories about it. An eerie darkness, not being able to see anything beyond the duel you're in, pain coming from every hit you take and if you lose… BAAM!" Syrus and Chumley fell over as he suddenly raised his voice. "Your soul's gone, just like that." Jeremy laughed a little at having scared his friends.

"Yes. Most people don't believe in shadow games now a day. But I find that most stories, well they generally have to come from somewhere." Pharaoh meowed, catching his master's attention. "Well I think that is my queue to get back home."

"Later."

"You know guys, there is this creepy building I saw in the forest once."

"Sweet! Then you can lead the way for us tomorrow night."

"Huh!? Wait a sec. What do you mean us?"

"Ahh come on you two. It'll be fun. Right Jeremy?"

"I think it might."

"Yeah, fun."

"Aww man."

Just outside of the room, Crowler was listening to the four Slifer students. "This is just the opportunity I've been waiting for to get rid of them. I think it's time the shadow games made a come back. Millennium Items and all."

* * *

Elsewhere, in a darkened and remote alley, two men stood surrounded by an eerie fog that reached up to their waist level. One of them was bald, wore black glasses, a t-shirt of the same color, a pair of army pants, a duel disk on his arm and clutched his heart with one hand. The other was clad in a black trench coat with a gray belt, a circular hat and a strange mask over his face. He had a different shaped duel disk on his arm and a chest piece that went with it. In one hand a held a golden colored pyramid shaped puzzle with an eye on the front. "Ok, ok you won. Please, just take whatever you want and go," the bald man pleaded.

"What I want, is your soul." His puzzle shone brightly as he talked.

"No please! Show some mercy!"

"Mercy? You want mercy? I'm afraid I don't know what that means." When the light from the puzzle died down, the other man was lying on the ground and wasn't moving. "Rest in peace. In the Shadow Realm." A cell phone rang from one of the survivor's pockets. He picked it up and talked in his sinister voice. "Speak." The person on the other end of the line spoke briefly. "Duel Academy? Tomorrow night? I'll be there."

* * *

The next morning, Jeremy, Jaden and Syrus were sitting in Banner's class. Jaden and Syrus were leaning against each other, both asleep and snoring lightly. "The philosophy of dueling went through a second renaissance with the rise of what some historians dub, virtual dueling." Through their teacher's explanations, Jeremy was sitting beside his friends. He was leaning back in his seat and nodding every now and then, making it seem as if he were paying attention. But like the other two Slifers, he was also sleeping.

At the same time, Crowler was looking at them through a small opening in the classroom's doors. 'Sleeping through yet another class. But you'll have a make up lesson soon enough. A lesson in the shadow games.'

* * *

Later that night, the Obelisk Blue's headmaster was waiting at the docks. Soon after, the man he'd called the previous night walked up to him. "So you're the one they call the Shadow Duelist."

Fog seeped from around him, encircling both men. "My opponents call me many things. Most of which are hard are to discern through their shrieks of sheer terror. But enough small talk, what's the job?"

"I want you to frighten a couple of students so intensely, that they leave this academy and never come back. Up to the challenge?"

"Of course. I never back down from a challenge. So who are these students?"

Crowler handed him a large brown envelope. "All you need to know is in here. The targets' names, their pictures and where they'll be tonight." The black clad man took the envelope and opened it up. He briefly scanned its contents and put them back in. "One last thing, to what name do I make the check out to?"

"Just make it out to Titan. Now then, I should get going. Pleasure doing business with you." With that he 'slid' away from Crowler and disappeared into the background.

One thing that neither of them had realized, was that they weren't the only ones in the area. A short distance from them, another dark figure had been watching and listening to the conversation. "Shadow duelist huh? Pah! What do they know about it? But those students might be of interest. I think it's time that the Shadow Realm returned to this world, not just a bunch of cheap tricks." The figure then 'melted' into the shadows with its destination in mind.

* * *

In the forest, the four Slifer students were wandering about, each carrying a flashlight and Jeremy and Chumley with a backpack. "I mean you could look at it as being lost, or you could just say we found a couple of places where it's not."

"Yeah well we've been finding places for over an hour now. But I guess it could be worse for Sy."

"For Sy?"

"We could be near a lake of dirty swamp water."

"Very funny. But you were the one who refused to take a bath because you were scared of the bath water last night."

"Really? Chumley you scare too easily," Jeremy commented.

"Well maybe if Syrus cleaned it once in a while it wouldn't look so swampish."

"Maybe if you grew up and started to take showers."

"Come on guys. This isn't going to help." Syrus and Chumley quieted down and continued their walk in silence. After a while, they eventually arrived in front of an old abandoned building.

"Hey check this out." Jaden pointed his flashlight at a rose on the ground in front of the gate.

"Check out what's behind it. The old dorm."

"And probably lots of ghosts too."

"Relax Chumley. Ghosts don't exist and nobody's here but us." The sound of someone stepping on a twig caught the boys' attention. Syrus and Chumley hugged each other in fright and Jeremy spun around, settling in a karate pose with his flashlight pointed in the direction of the noise. Jaden turned as well, but in a more relaxed manner. The disturbance turned out to be Alexis and Christine.

"Alexis? Christine? What are you two doing here?" Syrus asked, having calmed down a little.

"That's funny, I was about to ask you guys the very same thing," the blond girl answered.

"We heard about the abandoned dorm and wanted to check it out."

"Well that's not very intelligent. Didn't you know that kids have a habit of disappearing around here?" her friend filled in.

"Ahh come on. Who believes in that kind of stuff?"

Alexis looked at Jeremy with a frown. "It's all true. Believe me I know. Why else would the academy make this place completely off limits? They catch you guys here and they'll expel you in a flash."

"Yeah sure. Ok, so then why are you here?"

"I have my reasons! That's why!" she replied rather loudly to Jaden's inquiry.

"Whoa Alexis! No need to snap. We just came here to check the place out. But hey, we'll stay out of your way. Don't worry about it."

"Look. It's just that… One of the kids who disappeared here… Was my brother." Christine placed an arm around her friend's shoulders to comfort her. The Slifer boys stayed silent as the two girls started to walk away.

"If Alexis' brother disappeared… Then the rumors aren't just rumors. I say we go back Jaden."

"Yeah? Well I say we go in. Who's with me?"

"Hey we got this far. Why not go further?" Jeremy said.

"Okay then. If you guys are going." Jaden pushed open the gate and walked towards the entrance, along with Jeremy and a reluctant Chumley.

"See you in a few Syrus. Don't disappear on us."

"Disappear!? Ohh, wait up." Syrus ran to catch up with his friends.

The Obelisk girls watched as they walked out of sight into the building. "I sure hope they know what they're doing."

"It's okay Alexis. They'll be fine," Christine tried to reassure her. At that moment, a tall man dressed in black seemingly appeared out behind Alexis. Just as Christine tried to warn her friend, she felt herself being snatched by another person. Both girls lost consciousness as a rag was applied on their mouths.

The man frowned as he looked at the other figure. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

The outline of the person was curved enough to be able to assume that it was a woman. She wore a long red dress that went down to her ankles, but it was dark enough to mistake it for black, especially as there was not a lot of light. It was split at the bottom part to allow her greater mobility. She also wore a cloak of the same color and had the hood over her head to hide her face. On her left arm, was a dark bracelet with a strange insignia inscribed on it. "Who I am is of no importance. If I didn't have another objective in mind I might take the time to show you that the Shadow Realm is more than just a couple of tricks."

The man in black stood stunned by her words. "What? How did you?"

"Unlike you I actually am a shadow duelist. But since I'm feeling generous, I'll let you have the brown haired kid for your own plans, but his blond friend is mine. Stay out of my way, or I'll send you to the Shadow Realm myself." The woman then faded into the shadows along with Christine.

* * *

The four Slifer boys were now inside the abandoned dorm, exploring around. "This place is sweet!" Jaden exclaimed. "You know, a little paint, a couple of cardboard boxes, maybe a throw rug and we could so totally move in here."

"What? Are you kidding? This is even worse than the Slifer dorm. I mean, what's all the stuff on the walls?"

"Do you think it has something to do with the shadow games?"

"Jaden, don't stand so close."

"Hey. I think it shows the seven Millennium Items." Jaden turned his flashlight towards another wall, on which was a picture of a boy with brown hair and an Obelisk Blue blazer. "And that shows someone I've never seen before."

As Jaden was examining the picture, Jeremy stood in front of the wall showing the Millennium Items. He moved his hand along the tablet, looking closely at all the details. He was so absorbed in what he was doing, that when he realized that the wall was rotating on itself, it had turned too much for him to get away. "Hey! What's going on here?"

"Jeremy? Where are you?" Jaden's voice came from the other side.

"I was just looking at the Millennium Item drawings when the wall just turned on itself and now I'm stuck on the other side."

"Try pushing on your right and we'll push on the other side." Jeremy placed his shoulder on his end of the rotating wall and pushed while the three other boys did the same from their side. Despite their efforts, it failed to budge even an inch. "Let's try the opposite way." They all changed around to push on the left ends but it still didn't move. As they pushed, they heard a scream coming from deeper into the building that sounded like Alexis. "Was that Alexis?"

"Go on and save her guys. I'll find a way out myself."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Now just go!"

Following Jeremy's request, they all ran in the direction that they'd hear the scream. They ran to another room where they spotted an object on the ground. When they got close, they could tell that it was a duel monster card. Jaden picked it up and saw the card was in fact, Etoile Cyber. "This is Alexis' card."

"Well there's only one way that she could have gone." Chumley pointed in the direction of a tunnel that looked like one from a mine.

"Then that's the way we're going."

They ran down the tunnel, shouting Alexis' name in the hope that she would hear them. They eventually got to a wide open circular space that had strange lines on the rock floor and walls. An eerie gray fog was spread across most of the floor. Opposite from them, was Alexis, except she was in a coffin propped against the wall. "Alexis!"

An unknown voice spoke from the fog. "HAHAHAHAHA. She can't hear you. She's far away, locked in the Shadow Realm."

"Who's there?"

The man in black rose from the fog. "Your worst nightmare come true.

"Oh gimme a break."

"Then let me prove it to you. In a shadow game."

"We've gotta get Alexis back."

"Yeah! Hand her over right now or you'll be sorry."

"The only way I will free her, is if you defeat me in a shadow game."

"He's not looking at me is he?"

"No I'm pretty sure he means Jaden."

"Look I'm not afraid of dueling you, but shadow games aren't real."

"The others didn't believe in the shadow games either, but they were soon convinced. For you see, when you lose in a shadow game, you don't just pay with your life-points, you pay with your soul."

"So you're the one behind all those disappearances. Well you're not getting us, especially Alexis."

"Unless you win, she'll be mine forever and so will you."

Chumley reached into his back pack and handed Jaden his duel disk. "Good luck Jay."

"Thanks. Now get your game on."

"Shadow game that is." A part of his armband extended to form a duel disk.

Jaden inserted his deck into his own academy disk. "Just hang on Alexis. I'll get you out."

"Duel!"

Jaden: 4000

Titan: 4000

The two duelists drew their five starting cards and Titan took his sixth. "Prepare you fool to enter into, the shadows. I summon Infernalqueen Archfiend in attack mode." A monster with blue hair, beige claws, wings and horns appeared on his field. It was decked in a purple robe and its torso was covered in strange red and beige armor. (900)

"An archfiend monster?"

"Yes and now that this card's out, each and every monster with 'Archfiend' in its name, gains one thousand attack points." The Infernalqueen glowed purple as it powered itself. (900-1900)

"Uh yeah, actually, I already knew that. And I also know that to keep those archfiends on the field, you have to pay life-points during every standby phase of your turn."

"No I don't. Not after I activate the field spell card Pandemonium." As he inserted the named card into his disk, a small pool of lava appeared in the center of the field. From there, a bunch of red bone shaped lines spread out and at each extremity was a differently shaped skull.

"Pretty cool."

"And it doesn't just change the scenery. It changes the rules. Now I don't have to pay any life-points for my archfiends and if they're ever destroyed outside of a battle I get to add another one right into my hand. I know what you're thinking, your little friend's fate is all but sealed. Well you're right." Alexis' coffin closed itself and sunk into the ground.

"Alexis!"

"That's not fair."

"Yeah! What have you done to her?"

"The same thing I will do to the both of you, if you do not cease to pester and annoy me."

"Hey! Just leave my friends out of this. My draw." 'Ok. I don't have any card that can beat 1900 attack points, but maybe if I do this.' "Elemental Hero Avian, I summon you in attack mode." Jaden's winged green hero appeared before him. (1000) "And I'm gonna throw down two face-downs as well."

"Too bad you won't have a chance to use them. I summon Terrorking Archfiend in attack mode." A muscular red and beige fiend with wings appeared beside the first. (2000) "Now you have two vicious archfiends to contend with. And thanks to the special ability of the Infernalqueen, the Terrorking's attack increases by a thousand, making him an even more fiendish force to be reckoned with." A purple aura surrounded the Infernalqueen, which spread to the other fiend. (2000-3000)

"3000 attack points!?"

"That's right. And now I'm going to put them all to use. Terrorking Archfiend, attack Avian. Locust Storm Barrage." The powerful monster's ribcage split open and a swarm of locust shot out towards the green hero.

"No way. You forgot about my face-down card, Mirror Gate." A blueish white light appeared in front of Avian, pulsating outward like water with a rock dropped into it. "This trap card causes our monsters to trade places in battle. My Avian for your TerrorKing. So now all those 3000 attack points are gonna be going to work for me."

Titan simply smiled at this. "You really thought you could bait me into a trap? Look around you and tell me who's trapped."

"Wadda you mean?"

"I mean your trap won't work against my Terrorking. It simply activates his special ability. An ability that will determine our monsters' fate by way of chance." Six different colored balls with numbers rose from the lava pool and arranged themselves in a circle next to the archfiend duelist's head. "You see when he's targeted by an opponent's effect, Terrorking's special ability gives me a gambling chance. A number between one and six is selected at random. And if it happens to be a two or a five, then your trap's destroyed and my archfiend stay's on my side. So, let's spin the wheel of fate and see what happens shall we?" One of the balls was surrounded by fire which moved around the circle.

"It's okay. The odds are way in Jaden's favor."

"You flunked math Chumley."

"No. I got a 54."

When the fire stopped, it had landed on the two. "It seems as though chance has favored the Terrorking Archfiend. Mirror Gate is shattered." The light around Avian broke apart, giving way for the swarm of locust that hit Avian.

Jaden: 4000-2000

"Well that stinks. But at least it let's me use my other trap. Hero Signal." A beam of light appeared from Jaden's trap that shone an 'H' on the ceiling. "When my monster is destroyed in battle, this trap let's me summon another from my deck or my hand with 'Elemental Hero' in its name. And I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in defense mode." The stone hero crouched down in front of Jaden. (2000)

"Way to duel!"

"That Clayman should keep him safe."

"I don't think so. At least not from this." He pulled a pyramid shaped puzzle from his pocket and held it so the eye was 'looking' at Jaden. Light shone from it as it dangled from his hand. "Now the shadow games have truly begun. Don't your life-points seem insignificant when it's your very life that's at risk?"

Jaden looked down and saw that a part of his arms and his chest were gone, as if someone had dragged an eraser across him. "Hey! My arm."

"It is the way of the shadows, transcending the game, attacking your body."

"I can't move my feet."

"Of course not. As the shadow fog rolls past, you all will feel the darkness take you into its grip. You are at the mercy of the night now."

"I can't feel anything," Syrus said.

"Treasure the numbness, for it will not last. Soon you will drawn into an infinite chasm of eternal darkness where every waking moment will be filled with-"

"Gimme a break. How bad can it be? So what? Back at our dorm we have blackout curtains so we can sleep in later. I'm not scared of the dark."

"But your blackout curtains do not wield the same kind of mystic power as my millennium item does. It's your move. But make it count. It may be your last."

'Wow. Millennium Items, a shadow fog, who could ask for a better challenge?'

'What's he smiling about?'

"Here goes buddy. For my move I play the spell card Pot of Greed. Next I'll fuse Elemental Hero Sparkman with my Clayman on the field. Now say hello to Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." Jaden's two monsters disappeared into a vortex. A fork of lightning then struck the ground, from which rose a new one. (2400) "And now I'll use his special ability, which let's me destroy a monster whose original attack points are less than his own. Now Thunder Giant, let loose, Static Blast." A stream of electricity erupted from the palm of his hand and flew towards Terrorking, but stopped a meter short.

"I activate Terrorking's special ability once again. Spin Roulette." The numbered balls formed a circle again and fire went around them. This time when it stopped, it was on a five. "Hahahahaha. I win again. It seems as though fate isn't on your side even half the time. And now you will pay the price."

The blast of electricity turned around and struck the monster from where it came. "This stinks! Talk about a run of some really rotten luck."

"Your destiny is set. Soon my archfiend deck will finish off all your monsters. And my millennium item will finish off your soul."

"This match isn't over yet. I've still got a few cards up my sleeve. Like this one, Mirage of Nightmare. And I'll throw down a couple of face-downs while I'm at it."

"Don't waste my time. Your life-points won't last long enough for you to use anymore of your cards. Alexis' soul will soon be gone and so will yours. It's my turn."

"Hold on. I think you're forgetting something. Mirage let's me draw cards until I have four in my hand."

"So go ahead then. You could have four million and it wouldn't defend you against the crushing power of my monsters. Allow my Terrorking to give you an example. Attack with Locust Storm Barrage." The archfiend's rib cage split open once again to shoot out a swarm of locust.

"Talk about butterflies in your stomach. Good thing I played a trap. Mirror Force. Say goodbye to all your monsters in attack mode."

"Totally lishus. If Jaden keeps this up we can finally get out of here. And with Alexis too." A glass like wall materialized in front of Jaden. The locusts slammed into it and bounced back in flames that wiped out the two archfiends.

"How dare you!?"

"How? Cause I'm daring I guess."

"Well let's see how daring you are after this. I'm using Desrook Archfiend's special effect. By sending him to the graveyard, I can resurrect Terrorking Archfiend. Say hello to a not so old friend." The named monster appeared once again, though without its extra attack points. (2000)

"Him again?"

"And now I activate the effect of the field spell card Pandemonium. Its magic allows me to draw a new archfiend, if one of my archfiend monsters is ever sent to the graveyard by an effect. Of course this new archfiend can't be as powerful, but then my Terrorking is already packing more than enough power as it is. Now let's try this again. Locust Storm Barrage." Again the terrorking's rib cage opened to let loose a storm of locust.

"Go Emergency Provision. This spell card allows me to sacrifice another spell or trap card and gain a thousand life-points for each one."

Jaden: 2000-3000

Jaden put his disk in front of him before the locust swarm made contact.

Jaden: 3000-1000

"You still stand?"

"As long as I've got two good legs."

"But your legs are not good. And now with this latest strike on your life-points, neither are your arms." More parts of Jaden faded as the millennium item shone.

"Aww man. Jaden's fading really fast."

'Talk about hanging on by a limb. Better make this turn count.' "All right. I use the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive, which brings back Elemental hero Avian. Now fuse with Burstinatrix and create the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." The red and green heroes merged and in their place was Jaden's headliner. "Now what do you say we turn up the heat in here wingman? Attack with Infernal Rage." The Flame Wingman burned the archfiend by shooting fire from its dragon shaped arm. "Oh by the way, did I mention his super power? Your monster won't be the only one hurting, you will too. You take damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points."

Titan: 4000-1900

Parts of the archfiend duelist's body disappeared as he was hit with the wingman's fire. "Parts of him are starting to disappear too Chumley."

"You think that could work on my waist line?"

"It matters not. Because I have yet another Desrook Archfiend. I simply discard him to bring back my Terrorking. There's no escaping him. Rise again." The muscular archfiend appeared once again from the graveyard. (2000)

"This guy's really overstaying his welcome. I've gotta find a way to get rid of him somehow. But first I'm gonna protect myself with Dark Catapulter." A gray and purple metal monster kneeled in front of Jaden. It had a snake like neck, a red half orb on its forehead and what looked like antlers on its shoulders. (1500) "Now come on and do your worst."

"You want my worst? You should be careful what you wish for. Because you just might get it. Especially when this card is in the midst. I sacrifice my Terrorking Archfiend and call forth the Skull Archfiend of Lightning." The persistent monster disappeared and was replaced by another resembling the Summoned Skull, except with a darker more fiendish look. (2500) "You wanted my worst? Well now you have it. Every last supercharged volt." The new archfiend hurled forward a stream of lighting which destroyed Jaden's hero.

Jaden: 1000-600

'I've got to hang on. For Alexis.'

"Look into my millennium item and feel yourself drifting even further into the shadows. You are defeated, your life-points are all but gone. Soon you will be nothing but a hollow soulless shell. Feel yourself drifting… Drifting… Drifting."

'I can see anymore. What's happening to me?' Jaden fell down to one knee, feeling too weak to stand.

'Look at him suffering. The shadows are a powerful weapon indeed. Even the ones simply in your mind. If only he knew.'

Jaden's deck glowed, though only he could see it. A ball of light formed and flew around him. "_Coo!_"

'Hey, that you Winged Kuriboh? What is it pal? You trying to tell me something? Woah! Stay steady will you? With that bright light you're gonna hypnotize me quicker than you help me. Wait! That's it. That's what you're trying to tell me. We're not playing in the shadows, he's playing with my mind.' Jaden stood up again. "Well no more. I got this shadow game scam figured out."

"Did he just say 'shadow game scam'?"

"What's he mean?"

"I mean, my soul's not on the serving plate anymore. Let's keep going."

'What's happening? Why isn't he scared anymore?'

"My turn." A small ball of light appeared on Catapulter's forehead as Jaden drew his card. "First, I'm gonna activate my Dark Cataputer's special ability. It allows me to remove one card from my graveyard, for every turn he was in defense mode. Then for every card removed, I get to destroy one trap or spell card out in play. So seeing as he's been in defense mode for one turn, I'll remove Avian and destroy your Pandemonium card. Storm Shower Blast." A ball of energy formed between Catapulter's antlers and speed towards Titan. It connected with his duel disk and caused the field to crumble and resume its original appearance and without the fog.

"So what? You still haven't destroyed this." He held out his millennium item.

"You otta be careful what you wish for. You might just get it." Jaden flicked his Avian which flew towards Titan and stuck into the puzzle. When it did, both duelists' bodies fully reappeared.

"Alright Jaden. You got your body back."

"I never lost it Sy. This whole shadow game was just a big fake. It was all just hypnosis. A whole lot of smoke and mirrors to make me think I was losing my soul. This guy's probably just some out of work carnie."

"No I'm not. I can get my job back at the fair anytime I want." He placed his hand over his mouth immediately after saying those words.

"You're a sideshow phony."

"You fool! You forget. The girl's soul is still imprisoned in the shadow realm. That proves this Millennium Pendant is real. What do you say to that?"

"Besides that you're a big fake? See all the Millennium Items were sketched on the inside of this dorm. And yours would be called The Millennium Puzzle, not Pendant. You don't have Alexis' soul. You never did. So hand her over and all the other kids you snatched."

"Other kids? I don't know what you mean. And because of your carnie comment, you can find your friend by yourself." He threw a ball on the ground which exploded into smoke.

"No way! You're not getting outta here that easy." Jaden rushed into the smoke, but as he did so, spheres of light appeared in the mouths of the snakes carved in the walls around them. It then flowed into the middle of the room, dispelling the smoke, monsters and creating an eye on the floor like those on the Millennium Items. "Whoa! How'd you do this?"

"I didn't." The two duelists were then surrounded a dome of purple light that prevented anyone from seeing through. Inside it, they could only see themselves. All around them, there was only a strange darkness as far as their eyes could see. "What is this place? Where am I."

"Come on! Enough tricks already."

"A trick? I can't do something like this." Small black blobs appeared around Titan and swarmed him. "Help! They're attacking. Jaden, save me."

"What in the-" Jaden looked down and saw that he himself was surrounded by the same kind of creatures. He then heard a voice coming from his disk followed by his Winged Kuriboh squeezing its way out. "Now that's weird. First I hear you, now I see you. What in the world's going on here?" Kuriboh flew down and shooed the blobs away from its master. "Way to show em who's boss Kuriboh. Too bad he doesn't have a friend like you."

Some of the other black blobs swarming the archfiend duelist had dived into his mouth. When they stopped, his eyes shone red. "Jaden Yuki. The shadows crave fo a soul. Only one shall survive." He spoke in a different voice then before.

"Oh come on now! Red contacts? You've really gone overboard setting up for this."

"This duel shall now continue in the Shadow Realm." The blobs dispersed to form a circle around the two duelists and their monsters reappeared.

"So you're sticking with the Shadow Realm thing. Fine, at least we get to finish our match. I play the spell card Monster Reincarnation. So by discarding one card, one of the monsters in my graveyard comes back. And I choose everybody's favorite golden boy Sparkman." The blue and gold hero kneeled beside Jaden's other monster. (1400)

"Very well. My turn."

"But don't forget Mr. Tall, Dark and Scary, without your Pandemonium field card, having an archfiend out costs you 500 life-points per turn."

Titan: 1900-1400

"500 life-points is nothing compared to a soul. Skull Archfiend attack." The Summoned Skull mimic obliterated Jaden's Catapulter. "I now place one card face-down and summon the Desrook Archfiend in attack mode to end my turn." A monster shaped almost like the Pandemonium card appeared beside the other fiend. (1100)

"_Coo!_"

"Don't you worry Kuriboh. I'm totally still in this. Here goes." 'They say the best defense is a good offense. But what's cool about this card, is that it can let me have both.' "Sparkman, I'm putting you in attack mode." The electric hero rose from its crouching position. (1600) "And arming you with the spell card Spark Blaster." A rectangular gun appeared in the heroes' hand. "It has three blasts, each of which let's me change the battle mode of one monster on the field."

"So be it. Change the mode of my Skull Archfiend. His 1200 defense points should make for easy conquest, unless his effect negates your own."

"Sorry, but that's not the monster I was talking about. In fact he's not even gonna use it yet. He's attacking your Desrook Archfiend with Static Shockwave." The Sparkman shot a blast of electricity from its free hand at the smaller fiend.

Titan: 1400-900

"And as for who he's gonna use the Spark Blaster on, the Sparkman himself. From offense, to defense." The hero aimed his weapon at his feet and fired it, causing him to kneel down. (1400)

"Coward. First you have your Sparkman attack my life-points and then you have him switch to protect your own. But it matters not. Nothing can protect you from the trap card Battle-Scared. Now the 500 life-point per turn cost of my Skull Archfiend of Lighting affects not only me, but you too. And for as long as he's out on the field."

Jaden: 600-100

Titan: 900-400

"_Coo!_"

"Don't worry Kuriboh. It's all good. We've still got Sparkman."

"Wrong! Skull Archfiend destroy that peon. Blast Stream of Fury." Another blast of lighting destroyed Jaden's only monster. "Next I place a face-down and activate Double-Spell. Now by discarding a spell card in my hand, I can now use a spell card from your graveyard. And I select Emergency Provision. Then I sacrifice one meaningless card and regain a total of one thousand life-points."

Titan: 400-1400

"Your fate is sealed. You have no cards left in your hand. Battle-Scared will drain your last life-points next turn. Then you'll join the rest of the students I've taken. In the Shadow Realm."

"Better make this turn count. Cause one way or another, It'll be my last. Here I come! I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode." A new hero rose before Jaden in a stream of bubbles. He wore a white cape, was dressed in dark blue and wore light blue armor with two tanks on his back and pipes to shoot water on his hands. (800) "If there's nothing else on the field when he's summoned, I get to draw two more cards. And wouldn't you know. I drew his favorite. Bubble Shuffle. See, it works like this. I switch him and one of your monsters to defense mode, then I sacrifice Bubbleman and summon a hero."

"If my Skull Archfiend's counter effect does not render your card useless that is. If the roulette lands on a one, three of six, your Bubble Shuffle spell fails to activate." The fireball spun around the numbered balls.

"Ahh, I've had bad luck with this thing." Fortunately for Jaden, it stopped on the two. "All right. Finally I win!" Both the archfiend and hero knelt down. (1200) x2 "Now let's give a big Shadow Realm welcome to Elemental Hero Blade Edge." Jaden's Bubbleman disappeared and was replaced by a tall hero covered completely in golden armor with blades attached to his arms and jet wings on his back. (2600) "I know what you're thinking, he looks pretty sharp. Well you're right. So sharp, that when he cuts through your defending monster, all extra attack points go to you. Now Hero Blade Edge, show him how you got your name. Slice and Dice attack." The new hero dashed towards the crouched archfiend and passed through it. Cracks formed over it before exploding.

Titan: 1400-0

"NOOOOOOO!" The defeated duelist was then submerged by the black blobs and when they were gone, so was he.

"Now those are some sweet special effects. So realistic."

"_Coo!_"

Jaden looked at his furry monster and saw an opening in the darkness. "Huh!? Think that's an exit? Well, works for me. Come on, let's get outta here." The purple dome shrunk into nothingness just after he got out.

"Jaden!"

"You okay?"

"Never better guys."

"So what happened?"

"He did this cool magic trick. There were these little monsters and vortexes-"

"Magic trick? You don't think that was the real Shadow Realm?"

"It's just like I said. Just mirrors and fog machines. Though I'd give my entire deck to know how he did it. I've never seen anything like it."

"Well at least you're back. Now we can take Alexis and get outta here."

"Wait! Jeremy might still be in this building. We need to make sure to find him before we leave. Let's go guys!"

* * *

Thank you for reading. If you have anything to say, please leave me a review and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Next chapter starts from where Jeremy was left off and follows him as he duels against a 'real' shadow duelist with a dark deck to save Christine.


	8. The Shadow Realm Returns Part 2

Disclaimer: Screw that! You already know what I usually put here!

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The Shadow Realm Returns – Part 2**

Jeremy stayed near the rotating wall for the moment as his friends ran in the direction that Alexis' scream had come from. Seeing as they hadn't been able to move the wall with the four of them, he tried to look for other methods of getting out instead. He shone his flashlight in front of him, looking very carefully to see if he could spot anything that might cause the wall to open up. He searched on the sides, the floor and the ceiling as well. The only thing he saw was that he was in a tunnel as wide as his outstretched arms and a half foot higher than the top of his head. "Ok then. I guess I can't get out the same way I came in. All right, I'll just have to go down this tunnel and hope it leads to an exit."

Jeremy walked away from the wall he'd come through, moving at a steady pace, the passage angling slightly downward. After a while, the tunnel stopped and opened up before a room with walls of earth. When he got to the end of the passage that he'd come through, he could see that there was also one on his right, his left and across from him. "Oooookay. So where am I supposed to go now?" Jeremy thought about how to decide which way to go. "I know. I'll use the sure fire method. Eenie, meenie, mynie, moe. Catch a monster by the- Hey what's that?" He stopped as an object on the ground in front of the tunnel opposite him caught his eye. He made his way to it and picked up what turned out to be a duel monster card. "Dark Armed Dragon? That's Christine's card. But what's it doing here?"

As if to answer his question, a voice shouted his name from down the tunnel. "Jeremy!"

"That sounded like Christine. I'm coming!" Jeremy ran in the down the path towards where he'd heard her cry for help. Fuelled with adrenaline, he made it to the other end in a short time, even if it was as long as the last. The room he emerged in was carved in stone. Its walls were shaped in a circle wide enough to hold many people from end to end, the floor was flat and smooth with a big eye resembling those on the Millennium Items carved in the middle of another circle. There were statues of human sized gargoyles every couple of meters around the room, except for the entrance he'd come through, which happened to be the only one. To Jeremy's left, on the edge of the circle was a stone cross. Tied to it was Christine.

"Ah, you came at last. I was beginning to think that this girl didn't mean enough for you to bother coming after her." A cloaked person stepped out of the shadows from the end of the room opposite Jeremy.

"What do you want? Why did you kidnap her?"

"To lure you into my trap. So you'd have no choice but to duel me in a shadow game." The person pulled back their hood, revealing the face of a woman that seemed in her late twenties, or early thirties. She had jet black hair that dropped loosely down to the middle of her back and bright blue eyes. The most notable feature was her skin that was a light purple.

"Shadow game?"

"Yes. And if you lose, not only will you forfeit your soul, but I'll take hers all well."

"There's no way I'm gonna let you take anyone's soul. Especially Christine's."

"Jeremy, be careful."

"Don't worry. I promise I'll get you out of this." He took his duel disk out of his back pack, strapped it onto his arm and inserted his deck. As he did so, the woman across him tossed aside her cloak, which showed her elegant body covered by a dark red dress divided to allow her legs to move more freely. A section of her armband extended to form her own duel disk that looked like it was made from a ruby and was the same dark red color as her dress. A dark purple fog wrapped itself around the three people in the room, blocking everything out of sight, except for them. In all directions that he looked, Jeremy could see only an eerie darkness. The stone cross that Christine had been tied to was gone and instead she hung in midair, her hands and feet bound by the darkness. "Whoa!"

"Welcome to the Shadow Realm. Do you like it?"

Jeremy simply stared back at his opponent. "Let's just get it started."

"Duel!"

Jeremy: 4000

Shadow Duelist: 4000

"I play one monster face-down and one card face-down." Two cards appeared in front of her. "Now it's your turn." She had a smile on her face as she finished her turn.

'She seems pretty confident for someone with only a monster and a face-down. Her monster must have high defense points. No matter what she has, I'll still defeat her and save Christine.' "I activate Six Samurai United. Whenever I summon a six samurai monster, this card gets a bushido counter. Now I summon The Six Samurai Irou." A man wearing a green shirt and purple armor that covered his chest and most of his left arm appeared in front of Jeremy. His boots were also purple, along with a split robe that went from his waist to his ankles. He had long black hair, a visor that passed over his eyes and a long, thin sheath at his waist with the handle of a sword sticking out from it. (1700)

"With him out, I can also summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." The gray haired warrior with an eye patch appeared beside the purple samurai. (2100) "Since I have two Six Samurai monsters on the field, I'll bring out my ace. Great Shogun Shien." The tall red armored warlord stood on Irou's other side. (2500)

'Jeremy's really going all out if he's summoning this many monsters. He must be trying to end the duel as quickly as he can.'

"Irou, attack her face-down monster. Shadow Samurai Strike."

"Unfortunately for you, it has too many defense points for your samurai to defeat. Because that monster is-"

"It doesn't matter how many defense points your monster has. Since Irou's accompanied by my grandmaster, he automatically destroys any face-down monster he attacks without taking any damage." The purple samurai took out his sword and stabbed the concealed card in the middle. "Now Grandmaster, hit her directly." Jeremy's one eyed warrior dashed forward and swung his blade which connected with the unknown woman's disk that she raised to defend herself.

Shadow Duelist: 4000-1900

"Great Shogun Shien, finish her off."

"I'm afraid it's not going to be quite so easy. I reveal my spell, Book of Moon. And I'll use it to flip your shogun face-down." The red warrior got down on one knee before being replaced by the image of the back of a card.

"Damn! All right, I end my turn."

"Good. Now I can begin to end you. I play Dark World Lightning. This card's effect is like your samurai, because it destroys one face-down card on the field. And seeing as you only have one." A bolt of black lighting struck Jeremy's face-down shogun.

He had a look of shock at seeing his monster destroyed. "No! My best card."

"And it get's worse, because after using Dark World Lighting I send a card from my hand to the graveyard."

"And why is that something for you to be happy about?" Jeremy asked.

"Because the card I'm discarding is Kahkki Guerilla of Dark World. And thanks to his effect, I can destroy another of your monsters." The ghost of a gray fiend monster with a large upper body appeared behind Jeremy's Grandmaster. He then grabbed the warrior and pulled him down to his end. "And next I play the spell Tribute to the Doomed."

"Uh oh! Not good!"

"I guess you already know what it does then. It'll save me the trouble of explaining it to you. So I discard Beiige Vanguard of Darkworld and when he goes from my hand to the graveyard, he's summoned to the field." A muscular human like fiend wearing bits of armor that looked as it was made of bone and holding a short spear in its hands materialized in front of its master. (1600) "With that out of the way, you can say goodbye to your samurai." Bandages wrapped themselves around Irou and squeezed until the pressure overcame and destroyed him.

'She destroyed all of Jeremy's monsters in just one turn. Now he's completely defenseless.'

"Beiige, attack him directly, with Dark World Spear." The fiend advanced towards Jeremy and thrust its spear at him. The weapon passed through his stomach in the same way that a ghost would, though he flinched in pain.

Jeremy: 4000-2400

"Ow! That hurt. It felt like it was real."

"This is a shadow game after all. The rules are different when you're dueling for your soul. If you need more proof, then simply look over there." Jeremy turned his head in the direction that she indicated and his eyes and mouth opened wide in shock at what he saw. Christine still hung in midair, though her body had disappeared from her knees down.

"What's happening to me?" The Obelisk Blue girl's voice was tainted with fear as she realized her condition.

"Like I said, the rules are different in a shadow game. I thought it would be entertaining to impose my own. So when you lose life-points, she loses parts of her body. But don't worry, in the event that you win, she'll get her body back. Although the chances of that happening aren't very big. Speaking of which, it's your turn now."

"Here goes. I summon Chamberlain of the Six Samurai in defense mode." The amputated warrior with artificial limbs sat down before the samurai duelist. (2000) "I'll throw this face-down and let you have a shot.

'His monster may have more defense points than mine's attack, but this card is about to change that.' "I activate the continuous spell, Dark World Banner." A dark banner surrounded by a black aura with the face of another fiend on it appeared behind the vanguard. "Beiige attack. Dark World Spear"

"What? My chamberlain has more defense points than he can break through."

"Maybe, but here's the thing, when a Dark World monster attacks an enemy, my spell grants it 600 attack points for the duration of the battle." The aura from the banner surrounded Beiige as he advanced. (1600-2200)

"I activate Mirror Force. So say goodbye to your monster." A barrier appeared in front of the crouching warrior. When the attacker's spear slammed into it, it 'pulsed' outward, thus destroying the fiend.

"A minor nuisance. For at the end phase of my turn when any of my Dark World monsters are destroyed by an effect, my banner let's me resurrect one by discarding a card in my hand. Fortunately for you, even if it has an effect that activates under these conditions, it's negated." The spear wielding monster rose again. (1600)

'That was a close one. She almost took out my only defense. I need to get something good.' "I send Six Samurai United to the graveyard, which let's me draw cards for every bushido counter on it. So I get three. Then I'll play the field spell Shien's Castle of Mist." A dark Japanese style castle appeared behind Jeremy. "Then I'll equip my chamberlain with United we Stand, giving him 800 extra attack and defense points." (200-1000/2000-2800) "There's no way you're gonna get past him now."

The shadow duelist smirked as she drew her card. "You're wrong. Because I sacrifice Beiige Vanguard of Dark World, to summon the superior Goldd Wu-Lord of Dark World." A big bestial fiend wearing gold armor with horns protruding off the shoulders, what looked like curved wings on the back and spikes on the gauntlets replaced the lesser creature. It also had horns coming from its head and carried a large axe in its hands. (2300) "And with Dark World Banner still in play, he'll get 600 extra points to attack." The monster charged forward and was powered by the banner's aura. (2300-2900)

"Too bad for you, when one of my samurais is attacked, Shien's Castle of Mist causes the opposing monster to lose 500 attack points." An arrow flew from the dark castle and hit Goldd's arm. (2900-2400) His axe was then blocked by the chamberlain's sword.

Shadow Duelist: 1900-1500

The large fiend plucked the arrow out of its arm as he walked to his side of the field and returned to his original points. (2400-2300) "I end my turn."

'Great. Jeremy has a defense strong enough to hold off her monsters.'

"I'll draw… and pass."

"I play Pot of Greed, so I draw two cards and set both face-down."

"Yes! I play fissure. This destroys your monster with the lowest attack points, but you only have one, so you can guess who's going for a trip to the graveyard." A fissure appeared underneath Goldd from which a hand came through and dragged him down to his doom. "Now I summon The Six Samurai Kamon." The brown armored samurai stood next to the defending monster. (1500) "And with him out, United we Stand gives my chamberlain another 800 attack and defense." (1000-1800/2800-3600) "Then I'm switching him to attack mode and having him take out your life-points." The part metal warrior rose and rushed at the shadow duelist.

"You've got her now Jeremy."

"I rather think he doesn't. Because I'm going to stop you with Draining Shield. This negates one of your monsters' attacks and adds his attack points to my life-points." A green dome materialized around her in time to halt the incoming weapon.

Shadow Duelist: 1500-3300

"I'll just take your life-points back down. Kamon, blow a chunk out of her score." The named samurai took a stick of dynamite from inside his armor, lit it up and hurled it at the defenseless woman. The explosion lowered her life-points and pushed her back a little.

Shadow Duelist: 3300-1800

"I'll throw this down and that's it for now."

"I play Graceful Charity. So I get to draw three cards and discard two. And one of the cards I'm tossing is Gren Tactician of Dark World. With his effect, I can destroy one spell of trap on the field. So bid goodbye to United we Stand." The chamberlain's equip card shattered, leaving him with his original points. (1800-200/3600-2000) "As for the other one, it was Broww Huntsman of Dark World. His effect allows me to draw one card from my deck. Then I reveal Disgraceful Charity which brings back all the cards we sent from our hands to the graveyard for this turn. Now I play Monster Reincarnation. So I dispose of Broww and get him back, along with Beiige and another card from my deck."

'Every time she discards Broww, she can draw again and with her Disgraceful Charity it just comes back to her hand. And if she discards Gren, Jeremy will only have one card left.'

"To follow up, the spell card Cheerful Coffin. This lets me discard three monsters that I have in my hand. They come back because of Disgraceful Charity, but not before having their effects activated. For Gren's ability, I'll rid the field of your castle." The Japanese castle crumbled behind Jeremy. "Then Broww let's me draw again. My last card is Kye Thief of Dark World, who allows me to look at the top five cards in your deck and keep a spell card if I happen to find one." The ghost of a small cloaked monster appeared on the field, nothing visible but one of its hands. It grabbed five cards from Jeremy's deck and showed them to its master.

"Hey! Come back here you little thief."

"I believe I shall keep Monster Reborn for myself," she said, taking the named card. "Don't worry, you get to shuffle the remainder of your cards back into your deck." The little monster returned back to Jeremy and vanished when he snatched his cards and shuffled them with his deck."Thanks to your own card I just received, I can bring back Goldd Wu-Lord of Dark World." The large axe-wielding fiend resurrected to her field. (2300) "Then I'll summon Zure Knight of Dark World." A fiend with gray skin, gray armor and a dark cloak emerged, wielding a long sword. (1800) "Zure, destroy Kamon with your Blade of Darkness." The monster was covered in the dark aura and swung its sword at the brown samurai, cutting through his armor.

Jeremy: 2400-1500

Christine faded up to her waist as Jeremy lost more life-points. "Goldd, terminate his chamberlain and his life-points. Crushing Axe." The big fiend charged forward and obliterated the weaker monster that exploded in a cloud of smoke. "Ha ha ha ha ha. I won. Now both your souls are gone."

"Not yet they aren't."

"What!?" When the smoke cleared Jeremy, was still standing. "That can't be!"

"You're not the only one who can take away someone's victory." He pointed to his Nutrient Z trap card. "Since that last attack did over 2000 damage, this kicked in with a 4000 point boost before it connected. So my life-points never hit zero."

Jeremy: 2800

"Thank goodness you're ok Jeremy."

"Don't worry Christine. I promised to get you out of this and I don't intend to back down on that one." 'Although with the way the duel's been going, I'm not as sure I'll be able keep it.' "My turn." When Jeremy looked at his card, it was Shien's Footsoldier. As he held it, a life sized projection of the monster appeared on his arm. Jeremy stared at it, then at the card, then his duel disk and back at the monkey. He placed his hand on the top of its head and felt a solid surface. "Oooookay. Pretty sure this hasn't happened before."

"_Of course not. You most surely would have noticed an event such as this if it had happened._"

"I'm even more convinced that that never happened either."

"_Enough of that. Jeremy, you can win this duel. You simply need to believe in yourself and in your deck._"

"You're right buddy. Thanks for the support."

"_Anytime you need it. Now on with the duel._"

"I summon Shien's Footsoldier in defense mode." Jeremy's newfound duel spirit hopped off his arm and kneeled down in front of him. (300)

The shadow duelist frowned as she saw his monster. 'A duel spirit? He may prove more problematic than I anticipated if he can see them, especially since he has his own.' "Cowering behind a worthless monkey are we?"

"Hey! He's my friend and he's always got my back no matter what." The spirit stared at his master's enemy as he spoke.

"It matters not, for my monsters will crush him and your life-points soon enough. And while I'm at it, I'll summon a servant of mine you've already met. Beiige Vanguard of Dark World." The spear wielding fiend rose from the graveyard once again. (1600) "Now he'll eliminate your creature. Dark World Spear."

The monkey looked back at Jeremy and nodded to him. "_You can do this. Just have faith,_" he said, before being eliminated by the charging monster.

"Like I said before, he's always got my back. Because when he's destroyed in battle, I can summon a level three or lower Six Samurai monster from my deck. And I choose the Six Samurai Yaichi." The yellow armored samurai kneeled down before Jeremy with his bow held by both hands in front of him. (800)

"Zure take down his remaining monster. Blade of Darkness." The designated fiend rushed forward and swung his sword which broke through Yaichi's bow and armor. "Goldd, strike his life-points directly. Crushing Axe." Jeremy raised his duel disk and blocked the giant weapon, though apart from taking out most of his life-points, the impact also knocked him flat on his back.

Jeremy: 2800-500

As Jeremy's life-points went down, more of Christine faded away. All that remained of her was from the top of her head to the base of her neck. "I end my turn. You're now free to throw down more puny monsters. But be careful of what you do, there's hardly anything of your friend left."

Jeremy got up on his feet. 'If I don't get something good, not only am I done for, but so is Christine. Come on deck, I believe in you.' Jeremy felt a light tingling sensation as he placed his hand on his deck before drawing. 'If this card works, it could turn the duel around.' "I play a monster face-down." The image of the back of a card appeared in front of him.

"That's all? You must be joking."

"Just make your move already."

"Very well. I summon Broww Huntsman of Dark World." Another gray armored fiend rose beside the amassed army of darkness. This one with a fur pelt on it back, its face covered, carrying a quiver at its waist and a short bow in one hand. (1400) "Now prepare yourself for oblivion. Broww, Beiige, Zure, Goldd, Dark World Assault." The huntsman launched an arrow at Jeremy's only monster at the same time as the others advanced. The concealed card flipped up and revealed a jar containing a small plant. The flying arrow pierced through and a blue mist came out from the hole the projectile had created. It spread in the direction of the creatures of Dark World and they stopped moving when it touched them. "What's happening? What did you do?"

"It's not what I did, but what you did. Because by attacking my face-down Fiber Jar, you activated its flip effect. Now we each combine our hand, deck, field and graveyard, shuffle em up, then draw five cards." The shadow duelist forcibly took her four fiends from her disk and shuffled them along with the rest of her cards.

'If Jeremy get's a good enough monster, he can win the duel.' Christine looked at the Slifer boy, willing him to be able to end the duel on his next turn.

"Since you're not playing anymore cards, I'll assume that it's my turn then. Here goes something. Yes! Come on out Six Samurai Zanji." The red gold armored samurai with his sword tipped spear stood tall on the field. (1800) The purple skinned woman stood still, faced with the realization that there was nothing she could do to prevent her defeat. "Take her down for good this time. Samurai's Strike of Honor." Jeremy's warrior ran towards the opposing duelist. He swung his weapon in a diagonal downward arc and struck faster than she could block it.

Shadow Duelist: 1800-0

The darkness surrounding the three people suddenly began to amass around her. She was then enveloped by the shadows, at which a dazzling light shone all over the two academy students, forcing them to close their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, they were back in the room they'd been in before. Except that now the stone Gargoyles were gone and Christine was tied to the stone cross again, but with her entire body having reappeared. "Jeremy, you did it."

"I said I would didn't I? Now I'll untie you and we can get out of this freaky place." He put away his disk and deck, then proceeded to undo the ropes around her wrists, waist and ankles. Luckily, he was reasonably good with knots and they weren't tied so tight as to be almost impossible to take apart. In a short time he'd managed to free her, though she was feeling a little weakened by the whole experience. "Just hang on to my shoulder and I can help you walk."

"Thank you." She placed her right arm around his shoulder and they both left through the only exit. "So how did you end up here?" she asked as they walked.

"Well, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and I were in a room where we saw a tablet on the wall that showed the seven Millennium Items. I was standing close to it when it turned around and I got stuck on the other side. We tried to move it without a lot of success, then we heard Alexis screaming. The others went after her and I stayed back to try to find a way out by myself. When I got to a room at the end of this tunnel, I found one of your cards and then I heard you and came down here." As he spoke, he gave her back her Dark Armed Dragon.

"I saw Alexis taken by a tall man in black before I passed out."

"She'll be fine. After all, Jaden's probably saved her by now." They continued in silence until they arrived in the room with four tunnels attached. "Ok. We just came through here, the one across is blocked, so that leaves us those two. Which one will get us out?" A small ball of light appeared before Jeremy. It flew over to the tunnel on their left and bobbed up and down to indicate that they should follow it. "All right, the left it is." As they went through, Jeremy gave it a thumbs up and muttered a quick thanks.

"What was that about?" Christine seemed confused by his actions.

"Didn't you see it?" She simply shook her head. "That's weird, I wonder why not." They continued walking, the passage leading them upwards. Eventually they arrived at a spot where they could see a little light. When they stopped they saw a bunch of wooden planks barring their way. "If I take a running break I could get through."

"Just wait a minute before you try that." Christine stood off of Jeremy and walked to the barrier. Her footing was steady now that she'd recovered. She raised one hand and pushed against it. The whole thing fell outward despite the fact that she'd hardly put in any effort. Jeremy's mouth dropped open a little at this, to which she gave him a small smile. They walked into another room and were greeted to the sight of Jeremy's friends and an unconscious Alexis.

"Hey Jeremy! Good to see you again," Jaden said.

"Same to you Jay. Not to be rude or anything, but I'd rather get out of here before we continued this conversation."

"Sure thing. Let's go then."

* * *

After finally getting out of the abandoned dorm, the four Slifer boys, as well as Christine, stopped just outside the gates leading into the forbidden building. They all sat down and Jaden set Alexis' back against a tree. Then everyone told each other what had happened from their point of view, from Christine being snatched along with Alexis, to Jaden defeating the man with an archfiend deck to Jeremy's victory over the female shadow duelist and her dark world monsters. One thing that both victors left out, was all mention of their duel spirits. Sometime afterwards, Alexis stirred from her unconsciousness and opened her eyes, though she was visibly confused. "Good morning sleeping beauty."

"Where am I? What are you guys doing here?"

"Hold on, what kind of a thank you is that? We're here cause we had to find the bad guys, win the duels and rescue a couple of ladies in distress."

"That strange person took Christine." Alexis' fear subsided as she saw her friend beside her.

"Yeah! And that man in black took you. But at least we each had a knight in shining armor, well Slifer jacket and jeans, to come rescue us." Jaden and Jeremy smiled sheepishly at her words.

"Oh! And we found your card, as well as this." Jaden handed Alexis back her Etoile Cyber and a framed picture of the Obelisk Blue student they'd found.

"This is… My brother! It's the first trace of him I've seen in a long time."

"We want to let you know that we wanna help you find him."

"I… Thank you."

"Hey no problem." They then noticed that light was beginning to appear over the tree tops. "Uh oh. Sun's starting to rise. We'd better get back before they notice that we're gone."

"Bye girls."

"Yeah, later."

"Till next time."

"And if anyone asks, we were never here." At that, the four Slifer students took off running in the direction of their dorm.

"But you were. And now I might I able to find my brother."

"Come on Alexis. We should get back to our own dorm. I'll tell you what happened on the way."

* * *

Sometime after the six youths were gone, Crowler was walking inside the abandoned dorm. "Those Slifers must be beaten and paralyzed with fear by now. Come out shadow duelist, I want to hear single detail, every scream of fright. Huh? What's this?" He picked up a card on the floor. "Its Titan's Pandemonium card. He wouldn't leave this behind unless… He lost!?" Crowler muttered to himself, discontent that his plan had failed. "Ah, but I can still expel them if I do this. And then I just have to…"

* * *

Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley got to their dorm and managed to sneak into their room without making much noise. "Hey Jeremy. You know what I said last night about hearing voices," Jaden whispered to his friend who nodded. "Well during my duel, I heard them again. Even more, at one point Winged Kuriboh popped out of my deck and I could see and touch it."

"Dude, that is too much of a coincidence. During my own duel, I drew my Shien's Footsoldier and before I even played him, he appeared on my arm and he spoke to me. What do you think it means?"

"I don't know. But we'll probably find out another time." The four boys laid down on their beds and fell asleep within minutes, unaware of what might happen when they'd wake up.

* * *

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please leave a review if you thought it was good and if you saw any space for improvements then please say so. I know that cards like Tribute to the Doomed and Monster Reincarnation wouldn't activate Dark World monster's effects, but I decided to ignore that.

The following cards were invented by me (aren't I smart)

**Dark World Banner**

Continuous Spell

Effect: When a Dark World monster you control attacks one of your opponent's monsters, increase its attack by 600 during damage calculation only. If one or more of your Dark World monsters is destroyed by an effect during your turn, you can send a card from your hand to the graveyard to summon it back to your field (if the card you discard has an effect that activates under these conditions, it's negated).

Image: A dark banner with a dark aura and the face of Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World on it.

**Kye, Thief of Dark World**

Type: Fiend

Attribute: Dark

Lv: 3

Atk/Def: 500/1000

Effect: When this card is sent from your hand to the graveyard, you can look at the top five cards of your opponent's deck and keep one spell card (if there are any), your opponent shuffles the remaining cards into their deck. If this card is sent from your hand to the graveyard by the effect of a card controled by your opponent, you may keep any one card you want.

Image: A small cloaked figure with a gray arm sticking out and long nails on the hand.


	9. Practice Makes Perfect?

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh Gx. Really? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Why did this have to happen to me?

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Practice Makes Perfect?**

Early in the morning, before the sun had risen, a dark grey fog hung over Duel Academy like a blanket. Though one could still see through it, visibility was nevertheless quite reduced. At the docks, the lighthouse pierced the eerie darkness, illuminating a lone figure standing by himself. Nearby, another person was walking in the direction of the other. Alexis walked in silence, the only sounds coming from her footsteps. When she got close enough, she could discern not only that the other person was wearing an Obelisk Blue blazer, but also who they were. "Zane?" He had dark green hair, eyes of a lighter shade and a stern expression on his face. "Hello? What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Nothing," he answered in a serious voice. "I just felt like being alone."

"You know, I thought once your brother enrolled here you'd feel like that less, not more."

"Well maybe it's because my brother doesn't deserve to be here." Alexis looked as if she was about to ask him why, but she refrained from doing so.

* * *

Later in the day, after the sun started to shine its morning light, an army style truck could be seen driving on the road towards the Slifer Red dorm. When it stopped in front of the building, a dozen or so men hopped out of the canvas covered back. They were all dressed in black and gray military like suits, with flat hats on their heads and round dark sunglasses. As they marched up the stairs to the second level, Professor Banner walked out of his room with Pharaoh at his feet. He wore a loose gray shirt, pants, blue slippers and was rubbing his eyes in an attempt to rid himself of his tiredness. "Aren't you kids getting a little old to be playing war? Come on you guys how about a nice, quite game of charades?" He then took notice that the people outside in fact were not students playing war, but a band of adults heading towards one particular room. "Oh no! It's the Disciplinary Action Squad! They only show up when students are in serious trouble. And they're headed towards Jaden's room."

* * *

Inside the mentioned room, Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley were all sound asleep and snoring peacefully. Since it was a free day, they had no worries about having to wake up early, so they were still in their pyjamas and sleeping away. But they were prematurely awoken when someone knocked loudly on their door. "Open up. Open this door right now or we'll bust it down," someone said from outside.

The four boys stirred a little, but only Jaden sat up on the edge of his bed. "Is that so? You and what army?" he asked doubtfully.

"The Disciplinary Action Squad army," the voice answered.

"Huh? Disciplinary Action Squad?"

Jaden stood up and opened the door and on the other side stood a woman dressed in a green uniform with a beret and a cape. She had a serious expression on her face and spoke in a voice that left no urges to laugh. "You must be Jaden. And they must be Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley,' she said as she looked inside the room. The three other Slifers began to wake up in their beds. "The four of you are all under campus arrest."

"Huh? What gives?" Jeremy spoke in a sleep riddled voice.

"Yeah. What'd we do?" Jaden asked.

"That will be made more than apparent at the interrogation."

* * *

"WHAT? SUSPENDED?" The four Slifer students now stood in a wide circular room inside the academy's main building. They were facing three television screens. The one on their right showed the woman who'd brought them from their room, in the center was Chancellor Sheppard and in the left one was Dr. Crowler.

"That's what I suggest," she spoke. "You trespassed into the abandoned dorm. An anonymous letter from one of our faculty members confirms this. You must be punished so an example is set for all the students."

"But what kind of example are we setting here?" Crowler spoke. "That we are a bunch of hard hearted tyrants? I say we arrange something a little more... sporting."

"Sporting? What do mean by that?" Jaden asked.

"Well Jaden, of the top of my head, how about, you partner up with Syrus in a tag duel. Win and you're free, lose and you're both expelled. As for Jeremy and Chumley, you two can partner up with each other in a separate match. Well?"

"Tag duels? That sounds sweet!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Cool!" Jeremy said.

"But, but, guys, he said expelled," Syrus moaned.

"Yeah, expelled," Chumley repeated.

"Chancellor, I believe they have accepted the conditions."

"Fine. Then I'll arrange some opponents for them."

"Oh now chancellor, don't you fret about that. I'll take care of all the particular details for the event."

"Very well then."

* * *

Later, Chancellor Sheppard was sitting in his office chair, when the doors opened to reveal Alexis and Christine. "Hello there. What can I help you with?" he greeted them.

"Chancellor," Alexis spoke, "we just wanted to tell you that we were at the abandoned dorm too. Jaden and Jeremy were there helping us. We should be the ones to duel with them."

"Please sir, let us be their partners," Christine added.

"I'm aware that the stakes are high, but the teams have already been decided. Syrus will be Jaden's partner and Chumley will be with Jeremy. Don't worry, I'm sure that they'll be ok."

* * *

Once again at the Slifer dorm in the four Slifers' room, Syrus and Chumley were waiting anxiously for the two Obelisk girls. In the meantime, Jaden and Jeremy were both sitting down, looking over the cards in their own decks. After a while, the door opened and Alexis and Christine walked inside. "So did he say yes? Please tell me that he said yes," Syrus pleaded.

"Tell me he'll let you duel instead of us. If we partner up with them, we'll all be expelled," Chumley joined in.

They both shook their heads. "I'm sorry guys. No such luck for that. We told Chancellor Sheppard about what happened in the abandoned dorm, but the teams aren't going to change."

"Aww man. Hey, why aren't you worried?" Syrus said as he saw Jaden and Jeremy's nonchalant behaviour. "Aren't you guys afraid about being kicked out of here?"

"Na. We'll be fine, don't worry about it," Jeremy replied.

"What? Are you both nuts?"

"Look Syrus. We're gonna go in there, duel our best and win the match. Know why? Cause you and I are gonna work out all our kinks right now. So go and grab your deck Sy. Cause we're gonna duel."

"Good idea Jay. Hey Chumley, how about we do the same after they're done?"

"If you say so."

* * *

Syrus and Jaden were now standing at the water level while Chumley, Jeremy, Alexis and Christine were watching them from the top of the cliff nearby. "All right you guys, remember this is just practice for your upcoming tag team match. So go easy on each other. Of course, I'm not sure Jaden even knows how to go easy."

"That's probably a good thing."

"Wadda you mean Alexis?" Jeremy asked.

"It means that I know Dr. Crowler and he's not going to match them up against any pushovers."

"Both Syrus and Jaden are going to need to be at their very best," Christine said. "And so will you two. Because if you're not, you'll all be expelled."

"Don't worry about it. They'll be fine. And so will we." Jeremy turned his attention back to the two duellists below.

"All right Syrus. Get your game on buddy. And let's have some fun."

"Sure, fun. I get we might as well squeeze some in, before we get kicked outta here." Syrus spoke in a saddened voice and was looking more at the ground.

"What was that?"

"Uhh nothing."

"Then let's duel."

"Yeah. Duel." Both duellists activated their disks and drew their starting hands.

Jaden: 4000

Syrus: 4000

"Here I come Syrus." Jaden drew his sixth card. "Sweet! I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode." The bird like green hero appeared on Jaden's field. (1000) "And I'll also throw down a face-down. Your move."

"All right, let's see." 'Ooo. My Patroid's attack can beat Jaden's Avian.'

"Hey what's that smile about? You got something good?"

"Uhh, well umm, yeah I think so. Patroid, attack mode." A police car stood up in front of Syrus. Although, it had eyes instead of headlights as well as a mouth and a police hat on its 'head'. (1200) "Go Siren Smasher." The comic vehicle got down on its tires and drove towards the opposing monster with its read light and a siren blaring.

"Not so fast. I've got a trap. Negate Attack." Sound waves appeared between the two monsters and stopped the police car before pushing it back.

"Aww man. I should've guessed that your face-down was a trap."

"Yeah. Sy walked right into that one." Chumley looked at his feet and saw Banner's cat which he picked up in his arms.

"This isn't a good sign. They won't stand a chance in their tag match if Syrus plays like this," Alexis commented.

"Don't you think that dirt is just the coolest thing Jaden?"

"Sy, don't crack up now. You just made one mistake. That's all," Jaden tried to reassure Syrus.

"Yeah. Coming to this school."

"No Sy. You just forgot to use Patroid's effect is all. He let's you check out one of your opponent's face-down cards once per turn. You could have seen my trap."

"Yeah. I know I'm no good. I don't belong here."

"Syrus has some serious confidence issues," Christine remarked.

"Whoa! Slow down there. I didn't mean anything like that," Jaden said, surprised at his friend.

"I know you didn't Jaden. I know you were just trying to help. It's just that…"

"No you're right. I shouldn't butt in. Were opponents right now. And from here one out, we otta act like em. Game on." 'All right. Syrus is in for a shock," he thought as he looked at his hand.' "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode." The blue, gold armoured hero appeared next to the other. (1600) "And now, I'll have him attack Patroid." Sparkman formed a ball of electricity in his hands which he turned into a short lance. He held it in one hand before tossing it straight at the police car's center.

Syrus: 4000-3600

"Avian, attack Syrus directly. Windstorm Strike." The air hero flapped his wings, creating a gust of wind which hit the short Slifer, followed up by diving fist that knocked him down on his back.

Syrus: 3600-2600

"Last I'll throw down a face-down. And that's it."

"Can I crack up yet. I just got nailed on both our turns. There's no way I can win."

"Of course you can Syrus. You just need to believe in yourself," Jeremy attempted to encourage him.

"He's right. Don't give up. I mean, duh Syrus. That's the first thing they teach you in freshman duelling class. I should know, I had to take it twice."

"You're right. Especially since I'm not just duelling for myself, but for Jaden as well. And the best thing I can do for him right now, is to take him down." He got up straight as he spoke.

"Come on Sy, you can do this," Christine said.

"Yeah, totally. We believe in you. You just have to believe in yourself."

"You know Chumley, you're pretty good with words of encouragement," Alexis commented.

"Yeah, well I got all kinds of books on self motivation. For some reason my dad keeps getting them for me."

"Yeah, I wonder why. Anyway at least Syrus is playing in the duel right now, instead of the dirt. Nice job."

"Thank you."

"Now the question is, how will he play?"

"All right." Syrus checked out the cards in hand. 'I don't have a monster that can take on Jaden right now, so I'll have to use a different strategy.' "I'm playing the spell cards Pot of Greed. And now I'll use it to draw two more cards from my deck." Syrus drew his two cards and saw that they were Steamroid and another magic card. 'Powerbond!?'

'Judging by the look on Syrus' face, he must have just drawn a really sweet card,' Jaden thought.

'Powerbond is just like Polymerization for machines, but even better. If I use this, whatever machine type fusion monster I summon will have its attack points doubled. But oh well, I'm not good enough to play a card this powerful. Or so my brother says. I'll never forget that day back in grade school.' Syrus had a flashback as he looked at his card.

* * *

A younger version of Syrus was facing another kid in the schoolyard. Syrus had his Steamroid and Gyroid with 1600 life-points, while the other had Gearfried the Iron Knight, one card face-down and 1900 life-points. "You're going down you big bully," Syrus said. He drew his card and it turned out to be Powerbond. 'Awesome. This is the card my brother gave me. I'll win for sure with this now.'

"Quit your stalling ya little pipsqueak. You know you can't win anyway. So let's just get it over with."

"That's what you think, but you're wrong. This duel's all mine."

"Yeah right. The only thing that's gonna be yours is a king sized can a butt whoop."

"Sorry, but I'm done being scared of all your nasty threats. Do ya hear that? I'm not afraid of you anymore. Know why? Cause I'm gonna be the one to take you down."

"STOP!"

"Hey! Who said that?" Syrus looked around and saw another kid a little older than him. He was a younger version of the boy Alexis had met at the docks. "Zane?"

"This duel never happened, got it?" he addressed the bully. "Just take this and walk away." He handed him a duel monster card.

"Nice card! You got yourself a deal." He took the offered card and left the two alone.

"What're you doing Zane? I was about to win this duel with the card you gave me!"

"No Syrus. You weren't."

"Huh?"

"And I would have never given you that card if I had known that you would misplay it like you were about to."

"Misplay? I was not!"

"You were. This was the face-down card that your opponent had on the field, Syrus." He kept his back to Syrus all along as he talked and as he showed him a certain trap card.

"Spellbinding Circle?"

"That right. A very powerful trap card. And when it's sprung, the monster ensnared can neither attack or change its battle mode. So you would have summoned your fusion monster with Powerbond and its attack would have been doubled. But then Spellbinding Circle would have prevented you from attacking and then you would have been left taking a hit to your life-points at the end of your turn for having used Powerbond." Syrus struggled to prevent himself from crying at his words. "You weren't thinking Syrus. You didn't take into account the face-down card and you didn't take into account Powerbond's second effect. Sure, you may know how to use the card, but there's more to it than just that."

* * *

'Just holding this card again gives me the chills," Syrus thought as his mind returned to the present. 'And what did he mean that knowing how to use it wasn't enough?'

'Syrus sure is struggling with this move' "Hey! You alright there Sy?"

Syrus's eyes snapped open and he shook off his feeling. "I'm gonna play this spell card, Polymerization." A light and dark blue swirling vortex appeared over Syrus. "And I'll use it to fuse together the Gyroid and Steamroid in my hand to create, the Steam Gyroid." Another comic vehicle resembling a steam train and one like a helicopter were sucked into the blue vortex. The result came out as a gray machine shaped mostly like the steam train, but with helicopter blades around its 'waist'. (2200) "All right Steam Gyroid, it's time to go locomotive. Attack, Train Twister." The monster shot out steam from the top of its head as it spun the blades around its waist. The steam formed a mini tornado that struck Avian in the chest. The machine emerged its head from the whirlwind and repeatedly struck the winged hero with the helicopter blades.

Jaden: 4000-2800

"All right! Gotcha. Had enough practice?"

Syrus was surprised when he realized that Jaden was laughing. "What are you talking about, have I had enough? You know the old saying, no pain no gain. And with what I have planned, you stand to gain a lot. You may be one of my best friends, but now we're rivals. And I've got the cards to treat you like one. Brace yourself, as I activate my own Polymerization. Elemental Hero Sparkman and Elemental Hero Clayman unite." The two named monsters flew up into the darkened clouds overhead. "And here he comes, the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." A blot of lighting struck the ground in front of Jaden and the tall, yellow armoured electric hero descended. (2400)

Pharaoh jumped out of Chumley's arms as Jaden's new monster appeared. "That cat's got the right idea."

"Oh please. It's just another monster Alexis."

"No it's not Chumley. Thunder Giant can destroy one monster on the turn he's summoned if its original attack points are less then his."

"Really? Guess practice may finish early for Syrus."

"Ok Thunder Giant, take out Steam Gyroid." The designated monster pointed one finger at the clouds and a thin stream of electricity shot out from it. A series of lightning bolts then struck the ground around Syrus' machine before hitting it directly. The sky cleared as his monster was destroyed.

"Aww man. Now I'm completely defenceless."

"Yeah you are. But I'm not done yet. Elemental Hero Burstinatrix, I summon you in attack mode." A female human monster appeared besides the giant. She wore a skin tight red bodysuit, gloves, had long black hair and a golden headpiece. (1200) "Now comes this double tag attack. "Thunder Giant, Voltic Thunder." Electricity appeared in the electric monster's hands which he sent at Syrus.

Syrus: 2600-200

"Now Burstinatrix attack. Flare Storm." The female hero created two fireballs in her palms and hurled them at the kneeling Slifer, knocking him on his back in the process.

Syrus: 200-0

"And that would be game. That was a good duel there Syrus. "

"I don't know about that. It's not like I put up much of a fight."

"Wadda you talking about. Sure I able to pull it out at the end, but you made some sweet moves. You otta be proud. Although I gotta admit, I'm curious about something. What was that card that you drew but didn't play. You looked so excited." Jaden leaned down and took Syrus card to have a look. "Powerbond!? "Why didn't you use it? "You would've doubled Steam Gyroid's attack points. You would've had one tough monster. You know, on second thought,for my sake, I'm glad you didn't use it."

"Ok then. If Syrus had a card that good, then why wouldn't he have played it?" Jeremy asked.

"You don't understand. My brother says I'm not good enough to use it. And I'll probably never be. And it's obvious you'll never be able to win the tag team duel if I'm your partner." Syrus grabbed his cards back and ran off.

"Syrus!" Jaden ran off after his friend.

"I'm going after them to see what's going on," Alexis said.

"Ok then," Jeremy replied as she ran off. "What about you Christine? Wanna stay to watch me and Chumley duel?"

"I think I just might."

"All right. Now let's get it started." The two boys walked a little away from the cliff and positioned themselves for the duel.

"Duel!" They both started their disks and drew their five cards.

Jeremy: 4000

Chumley: 4000

"Give it your all Chum."

"I'll try. Let's see here… I summon Sea Koala in defense mode." Three small koalas sat down in front of Chumley. Their fur was brown, except for their stomachs and the inside of their ears and their tails were like a beaver's. (1600) "Then I'll play this face-down and end my turn."

"Here goes. Nice! I summon The Six Samurai Kamon." The brown armoured samurai stood up before Jeremy. (1500) "And since he's out, I can special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." The one-eyed, old battle hardened warrior appeared beside the samurai. (2100) "Now I'll have him attack your Sea Koala." Jeremy's monster took out his sword and destroyed the three Koalas with one swing. "Kamon, attack him directly."

"I activate my face-down. Scapegoat. This summons four sheep tokens to my field in defense mode." Four differently colored little ball furry shaped monsters appeared in front of Chumley. They had small horns on their heads and hoofed feet. (0) x4

"All right then, I'll just attack one of your monsters." The brown armoured samurai ignited a stick of dynamite and threw it at the blue scapegoat, which exploded on contact. "I'll throw this face-down and turn things over to you."

"Nice moves guys," Christine complimented them.

"Thanks," they both said.

"My turn. I play Koala march. Now I can summon one koala monster from my graveyard and if I have the same monster in my hand, I summon that one too. So I'll bring out two Sea Koalas." Two bands of three brown koalas appeared beside the three remaining token monsters. (100) x2 "Then I'll use their special abilities. When I have another beast type monster on the field, Sea Koala let's me reduce the attack points of one of your monsters to zero until the end of the turn." The designated monsters spat water at Jeremy's two warriors. (2100-0) (1500-0) "Sea Koala, attack his grandmaster." Three of the Koalas ran at Jeremy's weakened monster and hit into him one after the other, the last defeating him.

Jeremy: 4000-3900

"I reveal my face-down Swift Samurai Storm. After one of my six samurai monsters does battle, all of them gain 300 attack points for the rest of the turn." The other Koalas stopped in their tracks as Kamon was powered up. (0-300)

'This isn't good for Chumley. Even if he managed to destroy one of Jeremy's strongest monsters, his koalas are still in attack mode and he's open to taking a fair bit of damage.'

"I'm done."

"Since it's my turn again, Kamon's attack points go back to normal." (300-1500) "I summon The Six Samurai Nisashi." The green armoured samurai appeared next to the other, with his two swords sheathed on his back. (1400) "Now he'll attack one of your Scapegoats." Nisashi pulled out both his swords, rushed forward and destroyed another token. "With that done, him and Kamon gain 300 attack points." (1400-1700) (1500-1800) "And with his effect he can attack again. Take out one of his Sea Koalas." The green samurai spun around and scored a hit on three of the little Australian monsters.

Chumley: 4000-2400

"Kamon, attack the other one." The named warrior lit up another stick of dynamite which he threw in the midst of the three remaining brown furry monsters.

Chumley: 2400-700

"I'll play one face-down and with my turn over, my samurais' extra attack points are gone." (1800-1500) (1700-1400)

"Uhh okay." Chumley was hesitating because of the large amount of life-points he'd just lost. "I play the spell Pot of Greed. Then I'll use one of the cards I just drew, Silent Doom. With it I can bring back one monster from the graveyard in defense mode. So I pick one of my Sea Koalas." One of the bands of brown Koalas reappeared, sitting down. (1600) "Then I summon Tree Otter in attack mode." A grey monster appeared alongside the other beasts. This one was bigger and had grey fur that was white on its stomach, hands and feet. (1200) "Its effect let's me increase the attack of any monster on the field if I have another face-up beast type. And I'll raise its own." (1200-2200) "Then I'll use Sea Koala's ability again to lower Nisashi's attack." The brown Koalas spat water at the green samurai. (1400-0) "Now attack." Chumley's newest monster ran on its hands and feet towards Nisashi.

"Not so fast. I activate Negate Attack." A transparent barrier materialized in front of the grey beast that stopped moving.

"I play one card face-down and that's it for this turn." A hidden card appeared between Chumley and his monsters as his otter and Jeremy's samurai returned to their original stats. (0-1400) (2200-1200)

"My go then. Nisashi attack Tree Otter." His sword wielding warrior rushed towards Chumley's monster.

"I play my face-down card. Defensive Herding. When you attack one of my beast type monsters and I have one or more besides that one, this negates your attack and ends the battle phase." Sea Koala and the two remaining tokens bunched around Tree Otter. Together they repelled both Nisashi's swords and sent him back to the warrior duellist's field. "What's more, you lose 100 points for every beast type monster on my field."

Jeremy: 3900-3400

"I end my turn."

'At least Chumley seems to be keeping up, despite the difference in life-points," Christine thought.

"Lishus!" Chumley exclaimed as he saw the card he'd drawn. "I sacrifice Sea Koala and Tree Otter to summon Big Koala." The two named monsters disappeared and were replaced by a koala with blue fur. This one looked like the previous ones, though it was way bigger. (2700) "Now attack The Six Samurai Nisashi. Take down from down under." The blue koala ran to the opposing field. He then grabbed Jeremy's green samurai with little effort and slammed him back to the ground.

Jeremy: 3400-2100

"Wicked move Chum! But why didn't you use Sea Koala's effect before sacrificing it? You would've done more damage."

"Umm…oops!"

"That's okay Chumley. We all do mistakes sometimes," Christine said. 'Let's just hope he doesn't make too many in the tag duel.'

"I play my own Pot of Greed and of course, I get to draw two cards. Then I summon the Six Samurai Zanji." Jeremy's red gold samurai appeared before him. (1800) "And I'll equip him with Legendary Ebon Steed. This gives him 200 extra attack points and can save him from being destroyed once." Zanji mounted the black warhorse. (1800-2000) "Now attack Big Koala."

"But my monster's got more attack points than yours."

"That may be, but seeing as Kamon's still on the field, Zanji's effect destroys any monster he attacks." The red gold samurai urged his mount forward. Chumley's koala swiped one of its hands at him, but before it connected, he stood up and jumped in the air as his mount was destroyed. He then dropped on the enemy monster with his weapon pointed down. Though it was destroyed, Jeremy still took damage from the move.

Jeremy: 2100-1400

"Now Kamon, attack one of his scapegoats." The brown samurai destroyed one of the tokens with a well thrown stick of dynamite.

"The duel isn't over yet. I still have one monster left and you can't attack anymore."

"I'm afraid that's not quite true Chumley. I've got one card left to play. And it's the spell Turn Jump. This skips straight ahead to three turns in the same phase as we are now. Meaning that each of my monsters can attack again." Kamon threw a last piece of dynamite, destroying Chumley's only monster that exploded in a cloud of smoke. Zanji then rushed through the smoke and struck Chumley, causing him to fall over on his back.

Chumley: 700-0

"Nice duelling Chumley. There were a couple of times that you could have done a little better, but nothing too serious." Jeremy offered his friend a hand.

"Thanks." He took Jeremy's offered hand to get up.

"Good going guys," Christine said. "You two look ready to take on whoever Crowler sets you up against. Let's just hope that the same can be said for Jaden and Syrus."

* * *

Eventually Alexis managed to catch up with Jaden. "Hey Jaden, wait up." Having lost Syrus, he stopped at her request. "What's going on?"

"I just don't get it," Jaden said. "I wish Syrus could just see what I see. That the only thing holding him back is himself. I mean, he had this really cool card all set to play, but he doesn't use it. And why? Cause some brother of his said not to." The Obelisk girl's face displayed shock as Jaden explained. "What is it Alexis? Is there something I'm missing here?"

"Yeah. That brother of his goes to this school. And you've probably heard of him too."

"What're you talking about?"

"Hello! Third year Obelisk Blue and number one duellist at the academy. He's the big man on campus. Zane! And he really is as good as his reputation."

"Yeah? Well I'll tell you Alexis, it doesn't sound like he's very good to his little brother. I wonder what happened between them."

"Jaden, don't pry."

"Oh I won't pry. I'll duel this guy to find out what's up."

"Jaden! You're not listening to me. Nobody messes with Zane." Alexis emphasised the last part.

"Yeah? Well they do when their tag team partner's not duelling up to snuff because of him. Besides, I wanna see how I stack up against him."

'Well, if he's not gonna listen to me.' "You go get im Jaden."

"All right. Look out Zane, I'm coming for you."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please leave a review if you have anything to say what so ever. I checked on the internet for Turn Jump's effect and it was different than what I used, but I decided to bend the rules again.

**Turn Jump** (According to me)

Quick-play spell

Effect: Skip three turns ahead to the same phase as this card was activated in. All cards' effect count as having been activated for that time.

**Defensive Herding** (Invented by me)

Counter Trap

Effect: Activate only when your opponent declares an attack against a beast-type monster you control. Negate the attack and end the battle phase. Your opponent then loses 100 attack points for every beast-type monster on your field.

Image: A band of rabbits huddling together as an eagle is diving towards them.

Next chapter: Jaden duels Syrus' brother in an attempt to make him able to duel better for their tag match. By the way, I didn't have any duel planned for Jeremy, so I'm open to sugestions if you have any. If not, I'll just go ahead without him duelling in this chapter.


	10. If you Wanna Duel, then Duel

Disclaimer: I own Yugioh GX about as much as anyone else that writes on this site.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**If You Wanna Duel, then Duel**

After having talked with Alexis, Jaden found himself to be walking through the halls of Duel Academy with their conversation replaying in his mind. "_Syrus has a brother that goes to this school Jaden. You've probably heard of him too."_

"_What're you talking about?"_

"_Hello! Third year Obelisk and number one duellist at the academy! He's the big man on campus. Zane! And he really is as good as his reputation._"

Eventually, he got to the card shop, where he grabbed a duel request form and started to fill it out. "I can't believe this Zane guy," he muttered to himself. "I mean, no wonder Syrus has zero confidence. If my big brother told me that I wasn't good enough to play some card, I'd be insecure too. Well that's all about to change. I wonder, do you spell Zane with two ns? These duel request forms are such a drag."

As he continued writing, Dr. Crowler just happened to pass by him. "Duel request form?" he asked as he saw what Jaden was doing. He then grabbed the paper and looked at it. "Planning a duel are we? Against whom?" Crowler's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the name written on it. "Zane? You must be joking."

"No, actually I'm not. I'm taking him on to help Syrus get over his confidence problems. So he'll be ready for our upcoming tag match."

"Ah yes, of course. Your big tag team match. The one where if you lose you'll both be expelled from the academy am I right? And you say that duelling Zane will help you prepare? Well that a shame because, there'll be no duel." Crowler then proceeded to tear the paper to shreds in front of Jaden's startled face.

* * *

At that time in the four Slifer boys' room, Syrus was alone, sitting on his bed, with the blanket on his head and was staring at his Powerbond card. "_I would have never given you that card if I had known that you would misplay it,_" Zane's voice rung inside Syrus' head. "_Sure you may know how to use Powerbond, but there's more duelling than just that._"

"Aww man. I don't know a thing about duel monsters. I'm gonna let Jaden down for sure."

"_You don't belong here._"

"_You'll never be able to win._"

"_I don't know why you even bother trying._"

Syrus attempted to shut out the voices in his head by covering his ears, but to no avail. "I'm done for."

* * *

Elsewhere on the island, Jeremy and Chumley were going over the koala duellist's deck. The strange thing was, that for some reason they were both doing that while sitting on a large tree branch a ways off the ground. "Hey what about this trap Chumley? If you put this into your deck it'd work well with mine."

"That's weird. I don't remember having this card. Oh wait! That's just because I never used it. Yeah, I guess it would work with both our decks." Chumley then picked up one card and set it aside. "Ok, now I can fit in another koala and this monster too."

"Mind if I see that for a second?" Chumley handed Jeremy one of the cards he was holding. As he looked at it, Jeremy fished through his own deck until he found two specific cards. "Here's a nice combo we could use." He held the three cards in question so Chumley would be able to see.

"Cool!" Jeremy passed Chumley back his card. As he did so, they could hear someone's voice coming in their direction.

"Lousy Dr. Crowler. Where does it say those duel request forms have to be filled out in triplicate? And with a number eight pencil?" Distracted by Jaden's voice, Chumley started to lose his balance and rolled over on the branch, but managed to wrap his arms and legs around it, though he caused most of his cards to fall to the ground in the process. "Hey! What's that?" Jaden looked up to see his friend hanging from the branch. "Uh huh. It's either a giant tree sloth, or it's Chumley."

"Hey! What up?"

Jeremy secured his legs around the branch and rolled over so that was upside down and could look at Jaden. "Hi Jay. How's it hanging?"

"I'm pretty good. You look as if you'd know more about that though." Jeremy smiled at his comment. Jaden then kneeled down and checked out the cards that Chumley had dropped. "There's like, a zillion koala cards down here."

"Yeah they so rule. That's how I built most of my deck."

"They actually gave me a good run in our practice duel," Jeremy added.

"Wanna have a pick up duel against them?" Chumley asked.

"Hey... A pick up duel, why didn't I think of that?" Jaden suddenly turned around and ran in the same direction he'd come.

"Hey wait. Where you off to?"

"The Obelisk Blue dorm."

"Why you going there."

"A pick up duel, against Zane."

"The Zane!?" In his surprise, Chumley lost his grip and fell down.

"You ok Chum?" Jeremy grabbed the branch with his hands so he could let go with his legs and then let himself drop to the ground. "What was that all about? And who's this Zane guy?"

"What? Don't tell me you haven't heard of him." Jeremy simply shook his head. "Hello! He's a third year Obelisk Blue, the best duellist on the island and he also happens to be Syrus' brother."

"Your friend's never gonna be able to duel Zane." The two Slifer boys looked around and spotted Chazz walking towards them.

"Hi there. Chazz, was it?" Jeremy greeted him. "What're you doing in this part?"

The Obelisk put his arm in front of himself, so that they could see his duel disk. "I'm here to prove that you don't have what it takes to be here."

"Is that so? Well then, I'll just have to prove that I do." Chumley passed Jeremy his duel disk.

'Perfect. When I beat this guy, I'll lower both his and Chumley's game, so they won't stand a chance when they get to their expulsion duel.'

"Let's duel!"

Jeremy: 4000

Chazz: 4000

"I'll start things off, by summoning Chamberlain of the Six Samurai in defense mode." The warrior with metal limbs sat down in front of Jeremy. (2000) "Then I'll throw down one face-down. Your move."

"I play Graceful Charity. So I draw three cards and discard two. Then I play Premature Burial. By giving up 800 life-points, I get to summon the monster I just sent to the graveyard. V-Tiger Jet."

Chazz: 4000-3200

The machine monster shaped like a tiger appeared on Chazz's field. (1600) "I'll also summon W-Winged Catapult." A blue machine appeared beside the other. This one with slots to shoot rockets from. (1300) "Now merge to create, the VW-Tiger Catapult." The tiger machine flew up and landed on top of the other. (2000) "And thanks to his special ability, by sending a card to the grave, your monster's forced into attack mode." Jeremy's warrior stood up from his crouching position. (200) "With that out of the way, Tiger Catapult, blast him." Chazz's machine shot a series of rockets that destroyed the weaker monster.

Jeremy: 4000-2200

"I'll set this face-down and end my turn."

"This isn't looking good," Chumley commented.

"There's no need to worry yet Chum. Just watch me go. First, I activate Pot of Greed. And of course, I get to draw two more cards. Then I'll summon Shien's Footsoldier in defense mode." Jeremy's spirit monster nodded to him as went on one knee. (300) "I'll finish up with one more card face-down."

"That's it huh?"

"Yup," Jeremy replied confidently.

"All right. I summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode." The blue and yellow humanoid machine with two cannons on its shoulders took its place on Chazz's field. (1800) "Then I activate my Tiger Catapult's effect once again." Chazz discarded his second last card and the monkey monster stood up. (700) "Now I play my face-down card. Call of the Haunted, to summon back another monster from my graveyard. Y-Dragon Head." The red dragon shaped machine hovered beside the others. (1500) "Tiger Catapult attack. Destroy that little pipsqueak." Chazz's fusion monster shot another salve of rockets that cleared Jeremy's field.

Jeremy: 2200-900

"He's not going down that easy. Cause when he's destroyed in battle, I get to summon a six samurai monster from my deck, if it's level four or lower. So I'll bring out, The Six Samurai Kamon." Jeremy's brown armored samurai stood tall in front of the warrior duellist. (1500)

"Jeremy, I hope you know what you're doing," Chumley said in a slightly worried voice.

"Lot of good that'll do you. X-Head Cannon attack." The humanoid machine shot two blasts of energy from its shoulder cannons at the samurai monster.

"Don't worry Chum. I play Negate Attack. And like the name suggests, this stops your attack and ends the battle phase." A transparent barrier appeared in front of Jeremy's monster and blocked both the incoming shots.

"That only buys you one more turn. Until then, I'll combine X-Head Cannon with Y-Dragon Head into, XY-Dragon Cannon." The first machine flew up and landed on top of the second in the same manner that the other two monsters had fused. (2200) "Then I'll play one card face-down and end my turn."

"I reveal my own face-down, Swiftstrike Armor. During my draw phase, if I get a six samurai monster, this automatically allows me to summon it. So meet The Six Samurai Irou." Jeremy's dark clothed samurai appeared on his field. (1700) "Then I'll summon the Six Samurai Yaichi." The bow wielding samurai appeared beside the two others. (1300) "And by sending Shadow of the Six Samurai to the graveyard, I get to summon another six samurai from my hand. So come on out Zanji." The red gold armored monster stood next to his fellow warriors. (1800) "And whenever I have two or more of my samurais on the field, like I do right now, I can summon Great Shogun Shien." Jeremy's strongest card rose in the midst of the army he'd amassed. (2500)

"Four monsters in one turn!?" Chazz said shocked at his accomplishment.

"That's right. But I'm not done yet. I activate Yaichi's effect. Seeing as he's accompanied by his fellow samurais, he can destroy one of your face-downs, just by not attacking." The named warrior took an arrow from his quiver and shot Chazz's face-down card. "Now, Great Shogun Shien, attack his XY-Dragon Cannon. Great Master's Blade." The tall red armoured warlord charged at the fusion monster and sliced it in two with one swing of his sword.

Chazz: 3200-2900

"Zanji, take out the VW-Tiger Jet."

"You've lost it!"

"Not really. Because when Zanji's about to be destroyed, I can sacrifice another six samurai to save him. And with his effect, he destroys any monster he attacks." Both Zanji and Yaichi ran in the direction of Chazz's remaining monster. It shot a bunch of rockets at the first, but Yaichi jumped in front to take the hit, followed by Zanji impaling it in the middle of its tiger face with his weapon.

Jeremy: 900-700

"Irou, Kamon attack Chazz directly. Shadow Samurai Strike and Crushing Explosion." The darker samurai dashed forward and hit Chazz with his sword. He then pulled back as a stick of dynamite went flying past him to explode on the Obelisk Blue student.

Chazz: 2900-0

"And that's what we call game. Nice duel though Chazzy."

"Yeah! You rock Jeremy! Can we go back to the dorm now? I think I'm starting to get hungry."

"Me too. Let's go then. Later Chazz." The two Slifers gathered up their things and walked away in the direction of their dorm. Chazz remained stunned that he'd lost so unexpectedly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jaden had reached the entrance to the Obelisk Blue boy's dorm, but was met with a less than warm welcome. Not only did the two students at the entrance sneer at his red jacket, but when he made his request, they physically threw him back. "Hey! What's your problem?"

"I ain't got no problem," one of them answered. "But you sure will if you don't beat it."

"Yeah, Zane wouldn't waste him time with you," the other said. "You're still probably wet behind the ears from pre duel school."

Jaden hopped to his feet in a flash. "I am not," he replied insulted.

He just had time to bring his arm up in front of him as one of them splashed him with a bucket of water. "Now you are." They both turned back, laughing at him.

"We're gonna duel," he said with determination.

* * *

Back at the Slifer Red dorm, Jaden, Jeremy and Chumley had met up again. They walked towards their room while Jaden was drying his hair. "That's just plain mean," Jeremy commented when his friend told them how he'd been treated at the Obelisk Blue dorm.

"So what're you gonna do now," Chumley asked.

"Well I'll tell you one thing I'm not gonna do, and that's give up. I'll get Zane to duel me one way or another." When they reached their room, Jaden opened the door and they were surprised to see Syrus on his bed, with the blanket over him. "Sy are you still in bed? Look, I know that you're down, but that's no excuse to act like some lazy slug. I mean, come on." He went to wake him up, but when he pulled the covers back, it turned out that Syrus was in fact not there. "Huh? Where'd he go?"

"Hey! It looks like he left a note," Chumley said.

Jaden and Jeremy went next to him so they'd be able to read it. "_Dear Jaden. I'm leaving Duel Academy. Don't try and stop me. It's for the best. I would only be holding you back if I stayed._"

"What!?"

Jaden grabbed the note in one hand and crunched it up in a fist. "Sy's not going anywhere."

"You said it Jay."

"Yeah, let's go stop him. After dinner."

"No! We're going now!"

"But today's grilled cheese day," Chumley protested.

"If we don't hurry it'll be his last day." At that, Jaden and Jeremy each grabbed one of Chumley's sleeves and ran out the door with him. They searched around the shoreline, looking for any sign of their friend. "Syrus."

"Where are you?"

"Come on Sy."

They momentarily paused, during which Jaden and Jeremy's decks glowed with a white light. Both their spirit monster appeared beside them. "Oh it's you," Jaden said to his Winged Kuriboh.

"Hey buddy. You came about at a good time."

"_Are you sure of that? You seemed to be doing so well by yourselves._"

"So hungry," Chumley muttered. "Starting to hear voices."

"Great. A sarcastic monkey." Jeremy rolled his eyes at his duel spirit.

"Anyway," Jaden interrupted. "Can you find where Sy's gone?" he asked both duel monsters.

"_Coo!_"

"_Of course we can._"

"Then go!" Winged Kuriboh flew off in one direction while Shien's Footsoldier jumped from Jeremy's shoulder and ran on the ground. "Come on."

"First no grill cheese and now I gotta run. Why me?"

After running after the two spirits for a while, the three Slifers eventually found Syrus. When they did, he was on a small wooden raft and was pushing himself away from land. He then happened to look back and saw them coming after him. "Stay back guys."

Not paying attention to his warning, Jaden ran to the edge of the water and jumped out onto Syrus' makeshift craft. Unfortunately, the sudden imbalance caused it to break apart and dump the two boys into the water. "Help me! I can't swim."

"And you were about to raft out into the ocean? That's makes sense." Syrus' panicked movements cause both of them to go under water.

Jeremy was about to jump in after them, when his spirit partner held him back. "_They're fine. The water isn't even deep here._"

"What makes you say that?" Chumley then ran by him and jumped in the water. But to his surprise, he was standing and it only reached his waistline. "Ohh! I see."

Jaden and Syrus finally emerged from underneath the water. The two spirits then faded away upon seeing their job done. "Why are you trying to stop me? I stink. Please, just let me go. They'll assign you a new tag partner and you'll have a much better chance for winning the tag match."

"Sy that's your brother talking. Come on pal, you've gotta believe in yourself."

"You've gotta believe me. I'm a lost cause."

"He is right you know."

"Huh?" The four Slifer looked at where the new voice had come from and saw three Obelisk students. Two of them being Alexis and Christine, the third being an older boy that Syrus apparently recognized.

"Zane."

"So that's the school's top duellist," Jaden said.

"You're dropping out?"

"Well, yeah, kinda."

"It's about time."

Syrus hung his head in shame at his words. 'Pff. Some brother,' Jeremy thought to himself.

"He's wrong." Instead of cheering up, Syrus started to cry a little. "You're his big brother. How can you say that?" Jaden talked fiercely, hardly believing that he would do such a thing.

"Because I know him."

The two Obelisk girls both looked at him. Surprise marred their faces a little. Jaden however, was still maintaining his same attitude towards him. "Yeah I bet you think you know it all. But guess what, you don't. And I'm gonna prove it right now. Let's duel."

"No Jaden!" Syrus said as he looked at his friend.

"Duel a Slifer?" Zane sounded mildly surprised and amused by the idea. "Sure, why not? After all, it's been a while since I went slumming."

"Then get your game on."

"Jaden he's good."

"I'm sure he is, but so am I." 'And I'm sure this duel will solve Sy's confidence problems, without hurting mine.'

* * *

After they all gotten out of the water and dried themselves, the four Slifers, accompanied by the three Obelisks walked to a little ways from the lighthouse, where Jaden and Zane decided to face-off.

"Duel."

Jaden: 4000

Zane: 4000

Both duellists drew their starting hands and activated their disks. "Aww man. My big brother taking one of my best friends, there's no way this could turn out good."

"Come on Sy. I'm sure Jaden knows what he's doing."

"Here I come Zane. First, I'm gonna summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode." The hero of air did a backflip before landing on Jaden's field. (1000) "And I think I'll also throw down a face-down while I'm at it."

"That's all huh? Ok. For my first move I summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode." A big silvery metallic snake like monster rose behind the older student. (2100)

"What!? How can you summon a level five monster on your first turn?"

"I can play my Cyber Dragon because it's my first turn Jaden. When you have a monster on your field and I don't, he needs no sacrifice. And now I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card." A blue typhoon emerged from Zane's spell card and flew towards his opponent's face-down.

"That was fast."

"Not as fast as your life-points will go down. Cyber Dragon, attack. Strident Blast." The serpent machine opened its mouth and a stream of fire erupted from it that made quick work of Jaden's hero.

Jaden: 4000-2900

'Aww man. I tried to warn him that Zane was good.'

'Whoa. I guess everyone wasn't kidding when they said he's good,' Jeremy thought.

"Next I activate the spell card Different Dimension Capsule." A blue, yellow and orange Egyptian sarcophagus appeared out of the ground. "It allows me to pick any card in my deck. Then it's removed from play for two turns, when it'll be added straight to my hand." The sarcophagus closed up and sunk back into the ground.

"Man that's gotta be the best out of his entire deck. I can't wait to see what's gonna come outta there."

'Well I can, cause it's not gonna be pretty.'

"It's your move Jaden."

'Yeah, and I'd better make it count. Cause I'm starting to get the feeling that not only is this guy as good as his reputation, he might even be better. But still, that doesn't mean he's better than me.' "All right, round two. And first I'll rock Polymerization. Then I'll roll out Elemental Hero Sparkman and Clayman. And fuse them to create, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." The two monsters disappeared into Polymerization's vortex and emerged as the giant electric hero. (2400) "And since his special ability destroys monsters with less attack points than him, your Cyber Dragon is history." Jaden's hero raised a hand in the air and a bolt of lighting struck the metal monster. "Looks like Thunder Giant just made the big man on campus get a little bit smaller. Wouldn't you say."

"Yeah, I'd say so."

"Way to go Jaden."

"Whoa!"

"And the best part is that since that blast was just his special ability, I still get to use his attack. And seeing as you're now defenceless, I'm gonna use it directly on you. Voltic Thunder." The hero gathered electricity in his hands and released it all at Zane, though he didn't appear affected in the slightest, apart from his life-points.

Zane: 4000-1600

"You could at least kind of flinch. Oh well, maybe this'll get you later. Wroughtweiler, defense mode." A metal dog like monster with a blue visor over its head lay down beside Jaden's giant. (1200)

"Nice moves kid. Of course, with my field now empty again, I can just throw out another Cyber Dragon." A second metal serpentine monster appeared on Zane's field. (2100) "Or better yet two. I play Monster Reborn, and with only one monster in my graveyard, you can guess who's coming back." The first machine appeared beside its twin. (2100) "But neither will be here for very long, in present form." Zane held up his own Polymerization card. "Dragons unite. Now, Cyber Twin Dragon arise." The two monsters swirled about each other, and when they were finished, there was a monster with a larger body, a tail and two heads, each at the tip of a long serpent like neck. (2800)

"Twin Dragon? One was tough enough!" Chumley exclaimed.

"And thanks to its special ability, my dragon can attack twice in a round. Twin Dragon, attack. Double Strident Blast." Both heads spat out a blast of energy at each of Jaden's monsters.

Jaden: 2900-2500

"Glad you destroyed Wroughtweiler. Cause now his special ability kicks in. It brings back one elemental hero and one Polymerization card back from the graveyard straight to my hand. And just when you thought you could stop probably stop worrying about them. Huh Zane?"

"I don't worry."

"Man, you're chill. Not worrying, not even flinching, you are good."

"You too, Jaden."

'Woah! Since when does Zane give compliments?' Syrus wondered to himself.

"Now where was I? Oh yeah. I was about to summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode." Jaden's blue armored, white caped water hero appeared in front of him. (800) "And since Bubbleman's the only card on my field, I get to draw two more cards." 'Nice,' Jaden thought as he saw his cards. 'Transcendent Wings and Winged Kuriboh. The cards I used to beat that Dragon Catapult Cannon. An evolved Winged Kuriboh would turn Zane's Cyber Twin Dragon into a pile of cyber junk. Then its attack points would come out of his life-points. That'd be enough to drop his life-points to zero and win the duel.'

'Jaden looks like he just drew a couple of sweet cards,' Jeremy commented to himself.

'But I can't summon any more monsters this round. So I'll just have to wait until my next turn. Still, I won't have to wait that long to play another card.' "All right Zane, I play Polymerization once again. To fuse my Elemental Hero Bubbleman with Elemental Hero Clayman. Now, Elemental Hero Mudballman rise, in defense mode." The two monsters were absorbed into the black vortex. When they came out, it was as a hero with Clayman's body, except with bigger hands and Bubbleman's head. (3000)

"Lishus. Mudballman's got 3000 defense points. That Twin Dragon only has 2800 attack."

"Nice going Jay."

'I can't believe it. Jaden might actually win this.'

"Now give me your best shot Zane."

"My best shot? You've got it." The strange sarcophagus rose from the ground as he drew his card. "It's been two turns since I activated Different Dimension Capsule. And now I can take the card I put into it and add it to my hand." Zane took the card in question and the capsule then broke apart. "You played well, but not well enough."

"Hey, gimme what you got. I'm ready."

"I'm sure you are. A good duellist is ready for anything. And that means not only knowing how to use all of their cards, but knowing how to play them too. And you play your cards well Jaden."

'That's a nice compliment. But even better advice. Hope Sy's listening.'

'Of course. Knowing how to use a card and knowing how to play it are two totally different things. That's what Zane was trying to tell me all those years ago. I get it now.'

"First, I'll activate this De-Fusion card. It splits my monster back into two separate Cyber Dragons." His Twin Dragon disappeared and was replaced by the two original monsters. (2100) x2 "Next, I'll activate the magic of Powerbond. With this spell card, I'm allowed to summon a machine type fusion monster. And with another Cyber Dragon in my hand as well, I can now fuse three of them together and create, the Cyber End Dragon." The metal dragons were surrounded by a flash of light and when visible again, in their place now rose a different one. It had a body from which rose three heads each attached to a long neck, a tail that ran from behind and two widespread wings coming from its back. (4000) "Plus its attack points are doubled because of Powerbond's effect." The monster in question roared from all its heads as it was powered up. (4000-8000)

"8000 attack points!?" Jeremy exclaimed. "Holy crap!" Christine looked at him because of his choice of words.

"And keep in mind, when Cyber End Dragon attacks, the difference between his attack points and your monster's defense points are dealt to you as damage."

"Oh boy!"

"Just hang tough. If you can survive his attack you can win for sure because of Powerbond's side effect."

"Chumley's right. At the end of the turn Powerbond is used, the player who activated it takes damage equal to their monster's original attack points."

'Yeah. But that won't matter if you play it right. And Zane has. I just wish it didn't have to be at Jaden's expense.'

"Now, Cyber End Dragon attack Mudballman. Super Strident Blaze." The powerful machine monster shot a beam of energy from it three heads that combined into one. It obliterated Jaden's defending monster and passed through him.

Jaden: 2500-0

"I can't believe it. Jaden... Lost?"

"I seems to be so Alexis," Christine said.

"Thanks for the great duel Zane."

Zane looked at his brother for a short moment, before giving him a barely perceptible nod. He then turned around and walked away. Alexis ran to catch up with him and Christine followed her friend, but not before waving goodbye to the four Slifers. "So what do you think?" Alexis asked him.

"I think Syrus chose some good friends."

"Your brother's got some mad skills."

"Well, at least I got the looks," Syrus replied, now having regained a cheerful attitude.

The four boys laughed at his words. "Come on, let's go home and work on our decks. And I say we arrange yours so you can finally use that Powerbond. How bout it."

"For sure. Now I know to play it, not just use it."

Chumley's stomach chose that precise moment to growl and let everyone know that it wasn't content. "Yeah, well you know what I could use? A couple of grill cheese sandwiches."

The three other boys' stomachs took Chumley's example of saying they weren't happy either. "Not if I scarf em all down first Chumley." They all then ran off in the direction of the Slifer dorm.

"You'd better leave some for me."

"Wait up!"

"Ohh, we gotta run again?" The four students laughed good naturedly as they made their way back.

* * *

First thing, I'd like to thank The Duelist of Dawn for helping me with this chapter. He gave me the idea to have Jeremy duel Chazz. When I first typed that duel it was one and a half turns, I tried to stretch it out, but only managed to add an extra turn. So, if you liked this chapter and even if you didn't, please leave a review and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for reading.


	11. Father and Son Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX. But that's nothing new anyway.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Father and Son Time**

It was early morning on the waters surrounding Duel Academy. A thin gray fog lay over the small waves like a blanket. Silence reigned throughout the island, except for the few barely perceptible sounds of early rising animals and waves lapping against the shore. Further away from here, a small boat was making its way across the water. Two figures were visible through the fog. One standing at the back was steering the craft, while the other was sitting cross legged at the front. The second looked like a bodybuilder, the white muscle shirt he wore emphasized this. "Put your back into it. I wanna reach Academy Island by daybreak," he said.

"Yes sir," he replied in a strained voice.

'I won't have my son wasting one more slacking day at that school. Chumley's coming home.'

* * *

Later in the day, Jaden could be found lying down under the shade of a tree. "This is the life. Green grass, some warm sunshine, my own private spot."

"JADEN!"

"Ok, maybe not quite as private as I thought." Jaden sat up and saw Syrus running in his direction.

"Jaden, you've gotta come quick. Something terrible has happened."

"Did you flunk the traps test?"

"Actually I got a B. But that's not so important right now. It's Chumley. His dad just showed up."

"Yeah? So what? He raid our fridge or something?"

"No Jaden! He came here to force Chumley to drop out!"

Jaden's eyes widened at Syrus' words. "Drop out!? "No way! Not our buddy."

"Come on then." Jaden and Syrus ran back to the Slifer dorm where a bunch of their fellow students were gathered outside Professor Banners' room, looking inside to see what was happening, including Jeremy. "Hey Jeremy." His friend nodded to him and indicated the partly opened door. Jaden and Syrus both looked inside. They could see sitting across from Banner, was a man with a nose and hair like Chumley, except with more muscles. "No way. That's his dad?"

"Looks like a bodybuilder," Syrus commented. "Though carrying around Chumley as a kid, you'd kind of have to be."

The Slifers quieted down as the two adults continued talking. "I mean don't get me wrong, if Chumley was any good at duelling it'd be one thing. But obviously he isn't. He's wasting his time here. It's time for him to give up duelling and come back home."

"I see your point," Banner replied. "Chumley is a bit ummm…"

"He's a bit dense, you can say it. That's why I want him to come home and join the family business." He slammed his fist on the table in front of him to emphasize his point. "The hot sauce business that is. You do like hot sauce right?"

"Oh yes, of course. I love it. I can't get enough of it."

"I hear what you say." He reached down and placed a big red bottle with a picture of chili peppers on the front. "Here ya go. Free sample."

"Oh no. I really couldn't," Banner politely tried to refuse.

"Oh yes you could. Come on. Just think of it as a good bye gift from me and Chumley."

"So he's really dropping out?" Syrus looked at his friends.

"Over my dead body," Jeremy exclaimed.

"Isn't that a little extreme?" Jaden asked.

"Ok, maybe a little. But were still not letting him go just like that."

"Yeah. We've gotta go talk some sense into him." The three boys ran up to their room. When they got in, they saw Chumley on his knees packing up his bags. "Hey. What're you doing Chumley?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Chumley snapped at them.

"It looks like you're giving up. Like you're taking everything you've worked for and throwing it all away. Like you're abandoning all your dreams. All of your duelling goals... And you don't even care." Jaden grabbed Chumley's shoulder and turned him so they could all see his face. To their surprise, tears were running from his eyes. Jaden stood back upon seeing his friend in this state. "Whoa. Chumley?"

"He does care."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I just have something in my eye ok? Both of em. Now just leave me alone would ya?" Chumley attempted to rub his tears away on his sleeve. "I mean, it's not like I'm worth wasting your time on anyway. At least according to my dad I'm not. But he doesn't know, I could be a champion duellist. Because I have a special power that I haven't told anybody. Sometimes, I can hear duel monsters talking to me."

"Really?" Jeremy asked. "Cool. You're just like us."

"Did you tell your dad about this Chumley?" Jaden inquired.

"Of course not. The only thing important to him is just hot sauce, hot sauce hot sauce!"

Jaden grabbed Chumley's arm and helped him up. "Come on."

* * *

The four Slifers made their way to Chancellor Sheppard office to try and convince him to allow Chumley to stay. His three friends explained to him, Mr. Huffington and Professor Banner why he should. "So there you have it," Jaden said. "Chumley can't be allowed to drop out. He's got a gift."

"Oh sure. A gift for eating grilled cheese." Chumley looked down at hearing his father's comment.

"Look, we know Chumley. We're his roommates, not to mention his friends."

"And besides, I need him for our upcoming tag duel," Jeremy added.

"Look boys," Sheppard spoke. "I respect you sticking up for your friend here. But I'm afraid that this is a personal matter. It's not your business."

"That's right. It's family business. Which is why I propose a duel. Father versus son. If you have this special gift your friends say, you should beat me easily. And I'll let you stay at the academy. But, if you lose, then, you come home."

Chumley look change to one of determination. "It's a deal."

"Good. Then let's duel first thing tomorrow morning. How does that sound chancellor?"

"So be it. Tomorrow morning it will be decided if Chumley stays, or goes home."

* * *

The four Slifer boys were now walking out of the academy's main building, accompanied by their headmaster. "See guys, what I tell you? It was a piece a cake to convince Chumley's dad to let him stay at the academy."

"Jaden, we only convinced him to agree to duel. Chumley still has to win if he's going to stay."

"Yeah, but come on. Chumley's dad doesn't know how to duel. He's an amateur. Am I right?"

"He probably thinks about hot sauce so much that it comes out of his ears," Jeremy joked.

"Uh hum. Actually, he's been state duel champion three years in a row," Banner stated. "Why do you think he insisted so much that Chumley go to Duel Academy? He wanted his son to be like him. Ohh and wait until you see his deck. As you all know, he earns a living with his special hot sauce. Well, his deck reflects the kick of his sauce. It can take you out in one turn, like a spicy buffalo wing takes you out in one bite." Jaden, Syrus and Jeremy's faces showed their shock. "And all the morning after."

"So Chumley accepted knowing all of that?" They turned towards their friend who had a expression of grim determination on his face. "Chumley, you really wanna stay here, huh? Then let's go get your deck ready Chum."

* * *

Inside the Professor Banner's room, he and Chumley's father were sitting down at a table eating dinner, which included a large bottle of hot sauce. "Ahh come on. You can handle a little more hot sauce," he said as he poured him some.

"Thank you. You are so very generous," he replied politely.

"My pleasure. And your cat's from the look of it." Pharaoh was slurping hot sauce freely from his dish.

"Yes, good thing I stocked up on kitty litter."

"Speaking of, nature call," he stood up and walked out the door.

* * *

Inside the four Slifers' room, Jaden and Syrus were going over Chumley's deck. Jeremy not as much since he'd done so already. "What's with your cards?" Jaden asked. "They're all koalas."

"Koalas are my favorites, duh!"

"Don't get me wrong Chumley, koalas are cool, but can you win with them?"

"Isn't that the million dollar question?" Jeremy said.

"Here, try this card out." Syrus handed Chumley a card of a kangaroo dressed like a boxer. "I got it a while back but never used it. Maybe you can."

"Wow Sy. Really?"

"Yeah, if you join it with one of your koalas, you'll have yourself a deck from down under." Chumley strained to keep himself from crying again.

"Oh and I've got something for you too Chumley. This could really come in handy." Jeremy took a card out from his backpack. He showed it to him, revealing the Master of Oz. "After all, with 4200 attack points, it packs a pretty big wallop."

"You would really just give me such a powerful card?"

"Of course I would. I can't run this in my deck, besides, we're buddies and that's what buddies do for each other."

"I've got a card to give you too." Jaden passed him a Polymerization card.

"Are you sure? I mean, don't you use this Jaden?"

"Don't worry about me, I've still got some left. And like Jeremy said, we're buddies. You belong here with us."

"Thanks guys." Outside, Mr. Huffington had been looking in on them and listening at the same time.

* * *

The next morning, Professor Banner, as well as Chumley, his father, Jeremy, Jaden and Syrus were in a room in the academy's main building that looked like a ninja dojo. "All right, Chumley, Mr. Huffington, you both know the stakes for this match. If Chumley wins, he gets to stay at school. However if he loses the duel, well then, he has to go back home."

"Are you sure you wanna go through with this Chumley?" his father asked.

"Does this answer your question?" He brought up his arm in front of himself and activated his duel disk. His father did the same.

Chumley: 4000

Mr. Huffington: 4000

"Here I come." Chumley drew his sixth card. "Totally lishus. First, I summon Des Koala in attack mode." A koala with brown and white fur appeared in front of its owner. It had leaves in its mouth and belly pouch. (1100)

"Uh oh. Not good," Jeremy said.

"In attack mode?" Chumley's father was surprised at his mistake. "Don't you know that if you placed it face-down first, then flipped him face-up that Des Koala's special ability would have caused me to lose 400 points for every card in my hand?"

"Duh, of course I knew that. At least now I do."

"Now's too late. You should have taken your studies more seriously. Maybe now you'll learn." He smiled as he looked at the card he drew.

"Watch him closely children. You may learn something."

"Seeing as he's a state champ, I don't doubt it," Jaden said.

"Let's just hope it isn't the one turn finisher he's known for," Jeremy added.

"Ready son?"

"Uhh… I guess."

"Here I come. I summon Dizzy Tiger in attack mode." A human like tiger wearing a wife beater, khaki short pants, sunglasses and holding a bottle of hot sauce appeared. It seemed to have a hard time staying upright. (1800)

"A Dizzy… Tiger?"

"Weird." Jaden commented.

"You're telling me," Jeremy added

"So, why's he dizzy?" Syrus asked.

"If you ask me, I'd say he's overdosed on hot sauce."

"But that doesn't mean that beast doesn't still have some bite left in it."

"Dizzy Tiger attack. Hot Sauce Slash." The humanoid tiger lunged forward and swung its paw at Des Koala. He continued through until reaching Chumley and leaving a red mist with a strong smell.

Chumley: 4000-3300

"That's hot sauce alright."

"Oh boy! That stinks!" Jaden exclaimed.

"But his attack sure didn't." Syrus said.

Back on its owner's field, the tiger still had a hard time standing straight. "At this rate we'll be home before dinner. Which will be hot sauce I might add."

"I'll tell you what you can do with your hot sauce," Chumley snapped at his father.

"Hey, keep your cool there Chumley."

"It's nice that he's standing up for himself in front of his dad though." Upon seeing Mr. Huffington's look aimed in his direction, Syrus ducked behind his friends.

"Chum, fight back."

"You can still do this."

"I know. Lishus," Chumley said as he drew his card. "Yeah, this just might work. All right, I activate the spell card Koala March. Thanks to this, I get to summon a koala monster from my graveyard, as long as it's a level four or below." Des Koala reappeared from the grave. (1100)

"Hey look guys, Chumley has his Des Koala on the field again."

"That's true. I just hope he can work it better this time around."

"Not it, them," Banner said.

"Huh?"

"Koala March lets him summon another monster from his hand," Jeremy explained. "If he has the same one that he just brought back from the grave. And if I know Chumley…"

"I summon another Des Koala." A second brown and white koala appeared beside its twin. (1100) "I sacrifice both of them to summon Big Koala." The two beast monsters left the field and were replaced by Chumley's big blue furred Koala. (2700)

"Not bad," Mr. Huffington commented.

"No duh not bad. Now Big Koala, attack Dizzy Tiger." Big Koala charged on all fours at the tiger. "Take down from down under." It picked up the enemy monster and slammed it into the ground.

Mr. Huffington: 4000-3100

"Dizzy Tiger's gonzo."

"Yeah, way to go Chumley," the three Slifers watching cheered.

"So, you wanna fight? All right, let's fight. I call forth Dizzy Angel." A man with blonde hair wearing a white suit and black hat appeared on the field. Like the tiger before, it held a hot sauce bottle and couldn't stand straight without wobbling. (1800)

"He reeks of hot sauce too. And seeing how much trouble he has with standing straight, I'd say he's had more of it than he needs."

"_Huuuuhhhh? Wadda you juzz say?_" Chumley heard a voice coming from the Dizzy Angel.

'Whoa! I'm starting to hear those weird monster voices again.'

"Now I activate the spell card, Hot Sauce Bottle." A simple red bottle appeared in front of Mr. Huffington's monster who stared at it. "And I activate another spell card, Flipping the Table." The field between the two duelists became a low legged table. Mr. Huffington flipped it, sending both monsters in the air. Chumley's Big Koala landed on the ground and was destroyed. "What a card! It destroys everything on my field, everything but itself that is. Then the same number of cards on your field are also destroyed. Now you're left defenseless."

"That must be his special one strike attack," Syrus said.

"Yeah, and I don't know that I like it. It totally resets the field. It's hardly even fair!" Jaden commented.

"That's just like you dad! You don't like something so you trash it."

Chumley father laughed at his son's words. "I didn't get to be a hot sauce tycoon by being nice son." Dizzy Angel descended back to its owner field.

"Hey! Why is Angel still in the field? Shouldn't he have been destroyed by flipping the table?"

"Wishful thinking. You see, Dizzy Angle has a special ability. He can't be destroyed by the effect of flipping the table."

"What!? Oh man! This guy's gonna keep weirding me out."

"I'm afraid that it get's worse. Because when my Hot Sauce Bottle is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, it special effect kicks in. Which causes you to lose 500 life-points." A red heavily scented mist appeared for a brief moment around Chumley.

Chumley: 3300-2800

"Eww! That stink!"

"And I'm not done yet. Dizzy Angel, go in for your attack. Hot Sauce Sizzler." The monster in question fired a gush of hot sauce from its bottle.

Chumley: 2800-1000

"Chumley!"

"I just can't win!"

"Don't say that Chum. You can do it."

'Don't worry son, this'll be over soon.' "Make your move why don't ya?"

"But make sure you think it through Chumley," Banner advised him. "Otherwise you'll be back home bottling hot sauce."

"Duh! I know." Chumley drew his card, getting the one Syrus had given him the night before. He also held Jaden's Polymerization card. 'Well, I guess now's as good a time as any.' "First, I activate the spell card, Silent Doom. With it, I can summon one monster back from the graveyard in defense mode. And I choose Big Koala." His blue furry koala appeared back on his field, but crouching down. (2000) 'He won't kick me out without a fight!' "Next I activate Polymerization. And fuse Big Koala with the Des Kangaroo in my hand." A green kangaroo with red boxing gloves, boots and a purple vest appeared beside the bigger monster. It threw a few punches before jumping in the air and combining with the koala. "To create the Master of Oz." Chumley's new monster was even bigger than Big Koala. Its body was mostly green and like a kangaroo, except for the koala head, it wore red boxing gloves, boots, a purple vest, a championship belt on its shoulder and carried weights in its front pouch. (4200)

'Like I didn't see that one coming,' Mr. Huffington thought to himself. His mind briefly drifted to the moment he'd been looking in on the four Slifers and a small smile formed on his face as he remembered the show of friendship.

"Now go Oz. Outback Attack." Chumley's giant monster reared back one of its fists and swung forward. The punch hit Dizzy Angel so hard that it flew back into the wall and exploded in a shower of pixels.

Mr. Huffington: 3300-700

"Wow! What a move!" Jaden exclaimed.

"I'm still here."

"Then bring in on."

"Aww man, Chum almost had im there."

"This is a close one," Jeremy said.

"Yeah, this one's going right down to the wire," Jaden added.

"Chumley, you fought a good duel, but you've lost."

"What're you talking about? Master of Oz has 4200 attack points."

"It doesn't matter. You forget, with one flip of the table he'll be gone."

"That card doesn't scare me dad. You forget, I know its weakness."

"Flipping the Table has a weakness?" Jaden asked.

"That's right. Once you use it, you can't summon up a monster. And that means, you'll be defenseless dad. I'll win, you'll lose."

"Not bad son. You've accurately spotted the card's weak spot. I'm impressed. But still, it won't change a thing. See, with what I have, so what if I'm defenseless. Two Hot Sauce Bottles." Two more red bottles appeared on the field.

"Wait. If one bottle's destroyed he takes 500 points of damage. So if two are destroyed then…"

"It'll be bad," Jaden filled in for Syrus.

"I activate Flipping the Table." Mr. Huffington flipped up the table again, destroying his Hot Sauce Bottles and Chumley's Master of Oz in the process. "That's two bottles destroyed, meaning you lose 1000 points." The familiar red scented mist appeared around Chumley again, draining the rest of his life-points.

Chumley: 1000-0

"I can't believe it. He lost," Syrus was stunned at that.

"Poor Chumley," Jaden and Jeremy were as down as Syrus.

* * *

After returning to their room, Chumley started to pack his back for the trip home. His friends tried to convince him to do otherwise. "Chumley come on. You don't really have to go do you?"

"Duh! I made a promise and I've gotta keep it."

"Then this is really it?" Syrus looked on the verge of crying.

"You're a good duelist Chumley," Jaden said.

"Good luck," Jeremy stretched out his hand to their friend.

Chumley grabbed his offered hand. "Same to you." Syrus and Chumley were both crying now. "Anyway I better get going now. There's a whole lot of hot sauce out there that needs bottling."

"And I'm sure you'll bottle it great."

The four of them walked to the place where they were to meet up with Professor Banner and Chumley's father. When they arrived, only the Slifer headmaster was present. "Hey professor, where's my dad?"

"Your father had to go. Something went wrong with the milds. But he wrote you this and wanted me to give it to you."

Chumley took the note that Banner passed him. He unfolded it and read it out loud. "Dear son, there's more to school than just your studies. And while you may not have made great grades there, you've made some great friends. That's reason enough for you to stay." Tears of happiness dropped from Chumley's eyes as he read the last part. He then ran to the edge of the cliff and cupped his hands in front of his mouth. "DADDY! I won't let you down. I won't let any of you down. From here on out, I'm gonna make you proud of me. My family and my friends." His friends smiled at seeing him like this.

* * *

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you don't mind, please leave a review saying what you thought of it. Odds are I'll accept anything you have to say. Next chapter: Jeremy and Chumley team up to take on a pair of mystery opponents.


	12. Shall we Stay or Shall we Go Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX, or any of the characters, or the storyline that's already apart of the show. However, I do own Jeremy Wheeler, Erik and Christine.

I forgot to mention this beforehand, but I actually thought of the name Jeremy because there were twins at my school named Joey and Jeremy. I had the general outline for the following duel written already, but the rest only took me one day.

I got a review last chapter from someone accusing me of plagiarism. I remained polite with them, but they persisted in acting rudely and blocked me when I tried to explain myself. I do not believe I have done anything wrong, therefore I will be continuing to work on this fic (and my other ones), hopefully until completion.

Anyway, apart from all that, please enjoy this latest chapter and my first tag team duel.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Shall we Stay or Shall we Go – Part 1**

The day had finally come for the four Slifers' elimination tag team matches. Dr. Crowler was walking by himself in the halls of the academy's main building. 'Just look at them,' he thought to himself as he went by a bunch of red coat students. 'Pathetic Slifers littering the campus like vermin. The hallowed halls of my duel academy are for the elite, not the lame. NOT Jaden Yuki and Jeremy Wheeler.' Unable to contain himself he burst out yelling. "THOSE SLIFER SLACKERS HAVE MADE A FOOL OF ME FOR LONG ENOUGH!" He yelled so loudly that he caused the Slifer students around him to run off. "But soon they will pay most dearly for it. Soon with what I have planned, they will be the fools."

"Dr. Crowler."

He turned around to see Chazz walking up to him. "Ah Chazz. How may I be of service to you?"

"You can put me in the tag team duel against Jaden and Syrus, that's how."

"You?"

"Yes. This time I know I can beat him and send him packing."

"Sorry, but you'll have to sit this duel out Chazz. Don't get me wrong, your skills are admirable, but I'm afraid I'm not taking any chances this time. If Jaden loses this duel, he'll be expelled from the academy for good. And that's why he'll be facing off against the greatest tag team duellists in the world."

"If you're not gonna let me duel them, then at least put me in the duel against Jeremy and Chumley. As long as I get to send one of them back home."

"Sorry, but I've already arranged for another team of professionals to do the job. Don't worry, you'll still be able to witness their defeat." At that, he turned around and left Chazz by himself.

* * *

In their room, Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley were going over their decks and their respective partners' decks. "So Jaden, feeling ready are you?" Jeremy asked.

"Yup! What about you?"

"Same thing here. And you Chum?"

"How can you guys be so relaxed?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Jaden replied. "It's just another duel, another day. No problem, right Sy?" The small Slifer simply made a noise that showed his doubtfulness.

"This isn't just another duel Jaden. It's a tag team elimination duel. And if you lose, you'll be booted out of here. And if we lose, so will we."

"Come on Chumley," Jeremy cut in. "Haven't we talked about this already? No mention of losing, it's not good for morale."

Syrus was staring at his Power Bond card. 'The last time I duelled I was awful, just like my bog brother always told me I was. If we're gonna win this I'm just gonna have to better. And not let anything get into my head. Especially Zane. I've just gotta believe in myself. Believe in myself, believe in myself.' "I BELIEVE IN MYSELF JADEN!"

Jaden looked at his tag partner with a strange look as he hopped up from his seat. "Uhh... that's great Syrus. Now come on, let's go out there and get em."

"Yeah Chumley," Jeremy spoke as he got up too. "What Jaden said." The four boys then went out the door to confront whatever lay before then.

* * *

At the duelling stadium, seats were being filled up quickly as students sat down waiting for the tag duels to start. "**The first of the two tag duels will begin in just a few moments,**" A voice spoke in the loudspeakers. "**And remember, these are the test conditions. These are sudden expulsion matches.**"

Bastion was sitting in one of the seat as the announcement was made. "A tad harsh I'd say."

"No kidding," he looked to the side and saw Alexis and Christine sitting down next to him. "You're Bastion Misawa, a friend of Jaden's right?"

"I suppose you could say that. And you're Alexis Rhodes correct? And you are?" he said as he looked at Christine.

"Christine," she said simply. "And we're also the reason those four are in these matches. They were helping us out at the abandoned dorm when we we're snatched by a pair of shadow duellists."

"I see."

"But now if there's anyone that's in need of help, it'll be them," Alexis said. "I've heard that Crowler's arranged for professionals to duel them. That he's hired the best tag teams there are, to face off against them."

"You don't say." Bastion's face showed the little surprise he felt at hearing this.

"**Send in the accused. Jeremy Wheeler, Chumley Huffington, Syrus Truesdale and Jaden Yuki.**"

Chazz slammed his foot in the back of the chair in front of him in anger as he watched the four Slifers enter the arena. The noise was loud enough for the nearby Obelisks to lean away from him and for the Slifer boys to hear it. "Whoa! The acoustics in here are great," Jaden commented.

"Yeah... You think they'd let you count the echo as your tag partner?" Syrus wondered.

"For the last time Syrus, you're my tag partner," Jaden said as he tousled Syrus' hair a little.

"It can't hurt to ask though."

As they made their way to the middle, Chazz was barely preventing himself from bursting out with rage. "You Slifer slackers. It should be me taking you out. But I'll be fine just as long as someone does it."

Not too far from him, Erik was also sitting by himself, looking down at Jeremy. 'I guess it's time to see whether it was just dumb luck that you beat me, or if you actually have the skills to be a part of Duel Academy,' he thought to himself.

Higher up in the stands, Zane was staring down at Syrus. 'Well little brother, time to see if you belong here, or on the next plane away from here.'

'Zane,' Syrus thought upon seeing the look aimed at him. 'Gotta believe in myself, gotta believe in myself, gotta believe in myself, gotta believe in myself.'

As the four of them arrived on the platform, Crowler raised a hand in the air and spoke to the crowd. "And now the first tag team duel shall now begin. Jeremy Wheeler and Chumley Huffington." He covered the microphone with his hand and spoke to their two friends. "The rest of you go sit over there and wait your turn," he pointed the two seats that were marked 'Reserved for the accused'.

"Well, good luck guys," Jaden said.

"Uhh yeah. Good luck," Syrus mumbled before heading to the designated seats with Jaden.

"Now, allow me to introduce our first guest tag team duo." As Crowler spoke, the ceiling over them opened up and everyone could just barely see two figures descending from the sky. They got bigger and more distinct as they came closer. They could be recognized as two people falling down. They then opened up a pair of parachutes shaped like wings and briefly after landed on the platform just across from Jeremy and Chumley. They both took off their parachutes which they tossed just behind them.

They turned out to be two women dressed in purple skin tight suits with dark blue lining. Strangely enough, both had pointed ears and on their hands and feet were fake talons, not to mention, attached to their arms were green feathery wings. The only noticeable difference between the two, was that one of them had long flaming red hair and the other's was shorter and a lighter shade of red, almost pink. "Aera and Queen," Crowler introduce them, from left to right. Many people in the arena murmured amongst themselves at their appearance.

"No way," Christine exclaimed. "I've know these two. They're a relatively new tag team, but they're way good."

"I know," Bastion said. "I seen a few of their matches and it wasn't pretty. At least not for their opponents. I'd place Jeremy and Chumley's odds of winning this duel at a hundred to one."

Chazz chucked to himself as he saw the two harpie look alike. "Those two don't have a chance now. There done for."

"Well hello there," the red haired woman named Aera spoke up.

"I do hope you manage to put up at least a bit of a fight. Our last opponents didn't really last long enough to entertain us much," Queen added.

"If it's a challenge you want, then you've got it," Jeremy replied.

"Uhh yeah," Chumley said, though less confidently than his friend.

"Don't you think this is a bit too much Crowler," Sheppard said.

"No, not at all. Those Slifers broke a big time rule, so they should face big time opponents."

"All right then. So be it."

"Do you know about these two Jaden?" Syrus asked.

"Nope. But I mean, come on. Jeremy's mom uses a harpie lady deck, so he'll probably know all the cards they use. Let's go guys!" Jeremy gave them a thumb up.

"Now just to go over the rules before we begin," Crowler said. "There is to be no sharing of any strategies, no sharing of advice and no sharing of any card that is not yet in play. However, you may use what is already on your partner's field. The rest are the same as in a two person duel. Understood?" The four duellists, all with their disks at the ready nodded. "Then let the duel begin." At that, Crowler hopped off the stage and the players started their disks and drew their starting hands.

J&C: 8000

A&Q: 8000

"I'll start things off," Jeremy said. "By activating Six Samurai United. This gets a bushido counter each time a six samurai monster is summoned. Like, The Six Samurai Zanji." The red gold armoured samurai stood tall on his field. (1800) "And I'll throw two cards face-down."

"My move then. And I summon Harpie Lady 1 in attack mode." A woman dressed almost identically to the two female duellists appeared in front of Queen. (1300) "And as long as she's out, all wind monsters gain 300 attack points." (1300-1600) "I'll end my turn with one face-down."

"Let's see here. Umm, I summon Tree Otter in defence mode." A gray furry monster sat down in front of Chumley. (100) "And that's all."

"All right then. Now I summon another Harpie Lady 1." A second winged woman appeared on the field. (1300) "And with two of them, both their attack points increase to 1900." (1300-1900) (1600-1900) "And since I'm the last person to go, I can attack. Harpie, take out his samurai." The harpie monster in front of Aera jumped in the air and dove at Jeremy's warrior.

"I activate Spirit Barrier. So as long as we've got a monster out, we're not taking any damage." The Harpie Lady scratched her enemy with its claws, though the trap prevented damage.

"Very well then, I'll also end my turn with one face-down."

"Not a bad start," Bastion commented. "But with two Harpies on the field, they can each help power up the other."

"Bastion, how about you take more time to watch the duel instead saying stuff like that," Christine suggested.

"Sorry."

"Round two. And I activate my face-down, Swiftstrike Armor. When I get a six samurai monster during my draw phase, I'm automatically allowed to summon it. So meet The Six Samurai Nisashi." The dual sword wielding samurai appeared on Jeremy's field. (1400) "And guess what, he's a wind attribute monster, which means that he get's a power boost from your harpies." (1400-2000) "But I'm not done. I also summon The Six Samurai Yariza." Jeremy's dark blue armored monster took its place next to the other. (1000) "And with two of them on my field, he's allowed to attack twice each turn. Let em have it Nisashi." The green samurai rushed forward and sliced one of his swords across Queen's harpie. Then he spun around and did the same to Aera's.

A&Q: 8000-7800

"Now Yariza, direct attack." The dark armored warrior dashed at Queen and struck her with his weapon.

A&Q: 7800-6800

"Well done," Bastion remarked. "He managed to use their Harpie's abilities against them."

"You see Bastion, they'll be fine," Christine said.

"Let's just hope they can keep this up," Alexis added.

"I'll end my turn now."

"Let's take this to the next level shall we," Aera nodded to her partner. "I activate Call of the Haunted, to resurrect my Harpie Lady 1." The winged woman rose from the graveyard. (1300) "And I activate Inferno Reckless Summoning. So now I can summon two more from my deck." A pair of the same monster appeared beside the first. (1300) x2 "Since I have three on the field, they all gain 900 attack points."

"That may be, but so does my samurai," Jeremy stated. (1300-2200) x3 (1400-2300)

"But here's something else to throw into the mix. I equip one of my harpies with Cyber Shield. This gives her an additional 500 attack points." A chest plate along with pieces of armor for the knees and elbows attached itself to the harpie on the right. (2200-2700) "Now wipe their field clean." The armored harpie dove down at the green samurai while the other two did the same for the remaining monsters.

"Well it's a good thing Jeremy's Spirit Barrier is still in play," Jaden said.

"Yeah, but it's only good as long as they have monsters," Syrus pointed out. "And now they don't."

"I now play a spell card, Dark Designator. With it, I can name any monster and if my opponent has it in their deck, they must draw it. But since we're in a tag duel… Aera, how about… Harpie's Pet Dragon?"

"Why thank you." She took the named card and reshuffled her deck.

"That's all for this turn."

"Your move Chumley. I know you can bust out something good," Jeremy tried to encourage his partner.

"Ok then." 'Lishus!' "I play Polymerization. And I'll fuse another Tree Otter with Sea Koala, to create, Koala-Otter Koala." The monsters entered Polymerization's vortex and came out totally different. The new creature's skin was a darkish blue, except for its torso that was a light brown color. It had massive arms, a wide tail and an expression on its face that showed it was ready to fight. (2800)

"Cool monster," Jaden exclaimed.

"Now I activate his special ability. By sending one beast type monster from my hand to the graveyard, he can destroy one monster you control." The big fusion creature advanced and crushed the armored winged lady with a fist, causing the others' attack points to drop. (2200-1900)

"Wow! Chumley's sure gotten better since last time," Christine commented.

"I'd say. If he plays like this they'll have a better chance at winning," Alexis added.

"Since that's only his special effect, I can still have him attack. Take out another of their Harpie Ladies." Chumley's monster spun around on itself and slammed the harpie on the left with its tail.

A&Q: 6800-5900

In his mind Dr. Crowler was screaming to himself. 'WHY DID I HIRE THESE TWO? THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ONE OF THE BEST TEAMS IN THE PROS, AND THEY'RE GETTING BEATEN BY A GRILL CHEESE FLUNKY AND HIS FRIEND.'

Chazz was no happier at seeing this then Crowler was. "What!? This is impossible. Chumley isn't supposed to be this good."

"Now with another of your harpies gone, the last one loses more points." (1900-1600) "I'll just go ahead and end my turn."

Aera grinned as she drew her card. "I think it's high time we showed these boys what we can really do. Don't you think Queen?"

"Yes I do. Go on Aera, give them a real schooling."

"As you wish. First I activate my own Call of the Haunted. And you can guess who's coming back." Her own Harpie Lady 1 rose from the graveyard. (1300) "Then I'll add Inferno Reckless Summoning, to bring out two more from my deck." Another pair of harpies appeared on either side of Aera's already existing monster. (1300) x2 "And with four on the field, their attack points all increase to 2500." (1300-2500) x3 (1600-2500)

"You still can't beat my Koala-Otter Koala," Chumley said.

"They can't, but I'm about to summon a monster who will. Before that though, I play Harpie's Wingspan. Thanks to this spell card, for every Harpie Lady on the field, I can reduce the level of a wind attribute monster in my hand by one. So now I don't need to make any sacrifices to summon, Harpie's Pet Dragon." A great red dragon appeared amidst Aera's Harpie Ladies. It had a long neck, on which was a collar and chain held by one of its mistresses. On the forehead was a long green headpiece that went back to the middle of its two horns. (2000)

"Uh oh. This doesn't look good for them," Syrus moaned.

"Now for the fun part. Our dragon gains 300 attack points for every Harpie Lady on our field thanks to its special ability, in addition to the 300 points that it gets from each harpie for being a wind attribute monster." The red dragon let out a loud roar as it was powered up. (2000-4400) "Attack Koala-Otter Koala. Giga Saint Fire." The dragon reared back its head and gathered fire in its mouth. When it dropped its head down again, it let out a blast of fire that obliterated Chumley's Koala. "Now Harpie Ladies, attack them directly." Aera's three harpies flapped their wings, creating a wave of air that slammed into both Slifers.

J&C: 8000-500

"No way!"

"Aww man!"

"Great scott! They just lost 7500 life-points in one turn!"

"Not good!" Christine exclaimed.

Chazz on the other hand, was grinning at the huge loss of life-points Jeremy and Chumley had just suffered. "This is more like it. I knew those two didn't stand a chance."

Crowler was also happy at seeing this. "Yes! I knew it was a good idea when I hired these two. Now Jeremy and Chumley will both be expelled for sure."

"My my. This does not look good, huh Pharaoh?" Banner talked to his cat.

"Uhh Jeremy, I hope you've got something good. Cause they sure do," Chumley said in a worried tone.

"Don't worry Chumley. No matter how hard it seems, we can still do this. Ok?" His friend nodded, though he was still nervous because of their opponents' advantage. "All right then. My turn." Jeremy thought about his moves as he examined his hand as well as the field. 'I don't have anything right now that can beat those harpies, or that pet dragon, but if I do this…' "I send Six Samurai United to the graveyard so I can draw cards equal to the number of bushido counter it has. So I get three."

"Well, it seems as though Jeremy's still holding on despite the odds," Bastion commented.

"Let's just hope Chumley can do the same," Alexis said. "Because as good as he is, Jeremy won't be able to beat Aera and Queen by himself."

'Come on guys,' Christine thought to herself. 'Just hang in there.'

'With this I should be able to hold them off for a bit at least,' Jeremy thought. "I summon Marauding Captain in defense mode." A blond man with two swords and wearing bits of armor kneeled down in front of Jeremy. (400) "And with his effect, I can summon another level four or lower monster from my hand. Such as, The Six Samurai Kamon." The brown armored samurai crouched down beside the other. (1000)

"See Syrus, they're still in this," Jaden pointed out to his friend.

"Then I'll equip him with The Samurai Standing Alone. This lets him use his special ability, even if he isn't accompanied by another six samurai. So I'll blow up your Call of the Haunted," he said pointing at Queen. "Go, Crushing Explosion." The samurai in question took out a stick out dynamite and hurled it at the named trap card, destroying it and sending Queen's monster back to the graveyard. "Now I activate Fissure. This destroys my opponent's monster with the lowest attack points. So you can say goodbye to another harpie." A fissure appeared beneath one of Aera's winged ladies. A hand then emerged from it and pulled her in. "With both of them gone, the rest of your monsters lose a couple of points." (4400-3200) (2500-1900) x2 "I'll go ahead and end my turn."

"All done huh? Fine with me. I summon Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon." A smaller version of the older dragon appeared on Queen's field. (1200) "This card gains effects for every Harpie Lady we have out. With one you can't attack any of our Harpie Ladies. And with two, its original attack and defense points are doubled. Plus it gains 600 extra attack points with the Harpie Ladies' effects." The smaller dragon growled as it powered up. (1200-3000/600-1200) "Now attack Marauding Captain with Harpie's Dragonfire." The dragon spat out a stream of fire from its mouth that burned away Jeremy's monster. "I'll end my turn by playing one card face-down."

"Ok then. I activate the spell card Koala March. Thanks to this, I get to bring back one koala from my graveyard, as long as its level four or less. So I'll summon Sea Koala." The three brown and white furred koalas appeared on Chumley's field. (100) "Then I summon another one from my hand." Another band of koalas appeared beside the first. (100) "And when I have another beast type monster on the field, Sea Koala's effect let's me reduce the attack points of one of your monsters to zero." Three of the koalas blew up their cheeks and were about to spit water at the bigger dragon when they were interrupted.

"Not so fast," Queen declared. "I activate my trap, Divine Wrath. Now by simply discarding one card in my hand, I can negate the effect of your monster and destroy it." A bolt of light shot out from the trap card and struck one of the bands of koalas.

"Umm, I'll just end my turn," Chumley said dejectedly.

"Very well then. Harpie's Pet Dragon, attack Sea Koala. Giga Saint Fire." The big dragon let loose a blast of fire from its mouth that incinerated the furry creatures. "Now I'll attack your samurai with one of my harpies." One of her winged women dived down at Jeremy's monster and scratched him with her claws. Yet to many people's surprise, he stayed on the field. "What's this? Your monster should have been destroyed."

"Not quite. You see, when a monster equipped with The Samurai Standing Alone is about to be destroyed, I can sacrifice my equip spell to save him."

"Fine then. I'll just destroy him with my other Harpie." The second winged beast flew at Jeremy's remaining monster. She struck him with her talons, defeating him this time. "I'll place one card face-down and turn things over to you."

"If it weren't for Jeremy's Spirit Barrier, they'd already have lost."

"Bastion!" the two Obelisk girls snapped at him. "What did we say about your little comments?"

"Yes, umm sorry."

"Aww man. This isn't looking good. Jeremy and Chumley only have 500 life-points. Aera and Queen still have 5900."

"At least Jeremy's managed to keep them away from theirs so far. I just hope Chumley can step it up. Otherwise they might not last much longer."

"My turn," Jeremy said.

"And time to activate my trap," Queen interrupted. "Icarus Attack. To use this, I need to sacrifice a winged beast, then I can destroy two cards on the field. So I'll bid goodbye to one of my Harpie Ladies and you can do the same to Swiftstrike Armor and Spirit Barrier." One of the Harpie Ladies disappeared in a burst of energy, which then swept across the remaining cards on Jeremy's field. Though the remaining monsters did lose points from this. (3000-1500/1200-600) (3200-2600) (1900-1600)

"Aww man! With Jeremy's Spirit Barrier gone, so is their protection."

"Come on Syrus. I'm sure they're gonna be able to win somehow."

"I activate Card of Sanctity. Now we all draw until we're each holding six cards in our hands." The four duelists drew until they were holding a full hand. "Then I'll play four face-downs and end my turn."

"I activate Monster Reborn and bring back Harpie Lady 1." One of her winged women rose from the graveyard beside the smaller dragon. (1300) "Now all our monsters regain the points they had before." (1500-3000/600-1200) (2600-3200) (1600-1900) (1300-1900) "Harpie Lady 1, Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon, attack Jeremy directly and end this duel."

"I reveal one of my face-downs, Backs to the Wall. Now by paying all our life-points except for a hundred of em, every six samurai monster in my graveyard comes back."

J&C: 500-100

Jeremy's four past samurais appeared on his field, all kneeling down before him. (1300) (1000) (700) (500) His two most powerful ones were then destroyed by a blast of fire and gust of air. "I must say, they are certainly persistent," Aera commented.

"True. I never expected them to last quite so long. Anyway, I play Dian Keto the Cure Master to increase our life-points by a thousand."

A&Q: 5900-6900

"Then I set one card face-down and end my turn."

'That was a close one,' Chumley thought to himself. 'I need to play it right this turn, because now Jeremy's Spirit Barrier's gone and he's counting on me. Here goes something.' "I summon Des Wombat in defense mode." A monster looking a little like a large mole with brownish fur all over itself and an unconcerned expression sat down in front of Chumley. (300) "Then I activate the spell card Nature's Call. With it, if I have a level four or below beast type monster on the field, I'm allowed to play another one with the same level face-down."

"It won't be staying like that for long," Queen stated. "Because I play my face-down. Shadow of Eyes. When you set a monster face-down, this forces it into attack mode. And besides that, it also negates any flip effect your monster may have." Chumley's face-down monster flipped up and was revealed to be Des Koala. (1100)

"Aww man. If he'd been able to use Des Koala's effect he would've been able to deal a lot of damage to them."

"Umm, I play one card face-down and that's all."

"Time to end this. Harpie's Pet Dragon, destroy Des Koala with Giga Saint Fire." The bigger dragon reared its head back as it gathered fire in its mouth for the final strike.

"Not so fast," Jeremy interrupted. "I play one of my face-downs. Book of Moon. So I pick any monster I want and flip it face-down. And I choose Des Koala."

Chumley's koala was replaced by the image of the back of a card and reappeared when the attacking monster dropped its head down again. "Now since Des Koala just flipped up, his effect activates, which deals 400 points of damage to you for every card you hold in your hands."

"Since Jeremy played Card of Sanctity and they both drew one, that gives them both seven. Minus the three that Queen played is eleven. So they lose 4400 life-points!" Bastion calculated. Des Koala spat out the leaves in its mouth at the two harpie duelists, before being sent to the graveyard by the incoming blast of fire.

A&Q: 6900-2500

"Harpie Lady, attack Des Wombat."

"I'm activating another face-down," Jeremy said. "And it's called Paths of Destiny. So now each team flips a coin. Heads gives us 2000 life-points, and tails takes them."

Aera and Chumley flipped a coin for their respective teams. The harpie duelist got heads and the Slifer student got tails. "It seems we've won," Aera stated.

"Not yet!" Chumley spoke up. "Cause when Des Wombat's on my field, we don't take any damage from effects."

"And I'm also activating my last card. Bad Reaction to Simochi. This negates your life-point gain and it causes you to lose them instead."

A&Q: 2500-500

"Now that's what I call team work!" Jaden exclaimed. "Nice going Jeremy, you too Chumley." Jeremy gave him friend a thumbs up and Chumley did the same.

"You may have taken our life-points down, but my attack is still in play. Harpie Lady 1, finish off his beast." Aera's named monster flew up and dove down, striking Chumley's monster with its talons. "I play one face-down and end my turn."

"I must say, they've certainly managed to make quite the comeback," Bastion commented.

"Finally you're saying something positive for a change," Alexis exclaimed.

"But you know what?" Christine asked. "I think the best part, is the team skills they just displayed."

"My move then,"

"I reveal my face-down, Thunder of Ruler. And for the rest of your turn, you aren't allowed to declare an attack."

"Fine then. I'll just thrown this little number face-down and call it a turn."

"Now it's my turn. So I'll go ahead and attack with both my monsters."

"Oh no you don't. Cause I'm activating the card I just played face-down. Negate Attack." A gust of wind forced Queen's two monsters to remain immobile in their places.

"I'll just let you finish them off next turn," Queen spoke to Aera.

'Ok then. Jeremy doesn't have any cards left so it's up to me now,' Chumley thought to himself.

"Come on Chumley!"

"Yeah, you can do it!" his friends cheered him on.

'If I just get the right card I can win this,' Chumley looked at his partner who nodded to him. 'Alright, here goes.' Chumley then drew his card. "Lishus! I activate Fusion Recovery. Now I can take one fusion material monster from my graveyard and add it to my hand. And I also get back Polymerization. Hey Jeremy, can you lend me a couple of monster?"

"Of course Chum. They're all yours."

"Thanks. Now I sacrifice The Six Samurai Nisashi and The Six Samurai Yariza. To summon, Big Koala." Jeremy's two samurai disappeared and were replaced by Chumley's big blue furred koala. (2700) "But I'm not done yet. I play my face-down, Primal Rage. Whenever one of our warrior or beast-warrior monsters are sent to the graveyard outside of a battle, I get to add a beast type monster to my hand from the graveyard. And I choose Des Kangaroo."

"What? We never sent that monster to the graveyard."

"But I did. When I used my Koala-Otter Koala's effect. So now I can fuse Big Koala and Des Kangaroo to create, the Master of Oz." Chumley's two monsters merged together and when they were finished, in their place now stood the tall and powerful beast dressed in boxing gear. (4200)

"Impossible!" Queen exclaimed.

"No way!" Aera said in astonishment.

"Yes way! Now go Oz. Take out Harpie's Pet Dragon and their life-points. Outback Attack." The mighty fusion monster pulled back a fist as it rushed towards the opposing dragon. When it got just in front of it, he swung his arm in a massive uppercut that caught the dragon on the chin, defeating it and depleting the women of their remaining life-points.

A&Q: 500-0

"Yeah! Way to go Chumley!"

"Thanks Jeremy. I couldn't have done it without you."

"That was a sweet duel," Jeremy addressed the two harpie duelists. "Till next time."

The people in the audience all cheered at their victory. "Nice dueling guys!" They looked to the side and saw Jaden and Syrus walking next to them. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thanks Jaden."

"I'm just glad we get to stay here."

"Good luck with your duel," Jeremy told Jaden and Syrus. "Let's go to our seats so we can watch em beat whoever they're paired against." Jeremy and Chumley left to go sit with the rest of the audience, while Aera and Queen made their way out of the arena, a little surprised at their loss, but still looking alright.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Crowler muttered angrily to himself. "They may have won, but there's still the next duel left." He regained his composure before speaking into the microphone again. "All right, prepare for the second duel."

"Let's go Syrus."

"If you say so."

* * *

Thank you for reading and I hope you felt it was worth your time. Once again I would like to thank The Duelist of Dawn for helping me out. He thought up the names Aera and Queen when I asked him. Please review if you have anything to say whatsoever. Although I would ask to remain courteous if possible. The attack that Harpie's Pet Dragon used is the same one as in Yugioh! The Falsebound Kingdom. Also, for Harpie's Pet Dragon's effect, that works with monsters that have 'Harpie' in their name, and not 'Harpie's'. Just felt like pointing that out. Next chapter: Jeremy and Chumley won their duel and are home free. But how will Jaden and Syrus fare?

**Cards invented by me (yayyyyyyy)**

**Harpie's Wingspan**

Normal Spell

Effect: Activate only when you control one or more monsters with Harpie Lady in their name. Decrease the level of a wind attribute monster in your hand by one for each of them, until the end of the turn.

Image: Three Harpie Ladies with their wings streched out to their fullest extent.

**Nature's Call**

Normal Spell

Effect: Activate when you control a level four or lower beast type monsters. Select one with the same level in your hand and set it on the field.

Image: Silverfang howling to the moon with a bunch of other beast monsters near him.

**Primal Rage**

Normal Trap

Effect: Activate only when you a warrior or beast-warrior type monster you control is sent to the graveyard by means other than battle. Add one beast type monster in your graveyard to your hand.

Image: A warrior monster with an angry look, with its sword and armor on the ground and turning into an animal.

**The Samurai Standing Alone**

Equip Spell

Effect: Equip only to a 'six samurai' monster. The monster equipped with this card can use its effect when there are no other 'six samurai' monsters on the same side of the field. If the monster equipped with this card is about to be destroyed, you can send this card to the graveyard instead.

Image: A samurai facing a bunch of warrior monsters, standing by himself.


	13. Shall we Stay or Shall we Go Part 2

Disclaimer: As terrible as it may be, I don't own Yugioh GX.

As much as I hate making this public, to Technicolornina, I've blocked you not because of your accusations of Plagiarism, but because of the way you've been harassing me and how rude you've been. When I wrote an anonymous review trying to explain myself, you threatened to report me to staff, and then you go and write an anonymous review on this story accusing me of plagiarism again and continuing to be rude, there's no logic whatsoever in that. Don't do it again, because I'll either, one: just delete it and ignore you, or two: if I decide that I've had enough, I'll do what you've previously threatened me with, and I will report you to staff for harassment. End of story!

Sorry to everyone else who had to suffer through reading that, or if you skipped over, then good for you! So let's get on with the next chapter of this fic.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Shall we Stay or Shall we Go – Part 2**

"Syrus Truesdale and Jaden Yuki. Step forward for the second tag team elimination match," Crowler announced.

"Come on Syrus. Jeremy and Chumley did it and so can we."

"Ok then," he replied, but less confidently than his partner.

From their seats Bastion, Alexis and Christine were looking down at the two duelists. "If they're going to win this duel, Syrus will have to get over his confidence issue," Bastion remarked.

"As good as Jaden may be, he'll need Syrus' help to win this," Alexis added.

"I'd say so," Christine added. She then took notice of the two Slifers walking up to them. "Hey guys! Glad to see you'll be staying."

"That was one impressive duel," Bastion commented.

"Thanks," Chumley replied.

"Now all that's left is for Jaden and Syrus to do the same," Jeremy said confidently.

"Since we're all ready, allow me to present our second guest tag team duo," Crowler spoke into the microphone. Two men jumped onto the stage. They did a series of flips and then landed on the side of the platform opposite Jaden and Syrus. They were almost identical like two drops of water. Both were bald, had a strange Chinese symbols on their foreheads and wore Chinese style robes. The only noticeable difference was that one wore orange and the other green.

"Who're they?" the two Slifers asked.

"The Paradox Brothers," Crowler announced in reply.

"Salutations you fools," the orange one greeted.

"Hope you're ready to duel," the other rhymed.

"Uhh, I've never heard of these guys."

Syrus was about as clueless as Jaden "Me neither. Maybe this tag duel won't be as bad as I thought."

"Perhaps. After all, they haven't duelled in ages," Crowler said. "The last time they duelled it was against Joey Wheeler and a Yugi something."

"The King of Games Yugi?" Syrus was as surprised as his friend.

"I know about these guys," Alexis mentioned. "They're some kind of duelling mercenaries, not to mention the best tag duellists in the world. This is hardly even fair."

"I think that was Crowler's point," Bastion explained. "Statistically speaking, I'd place Jaden and Syrus' odds at winning this to be a one in a hundred."

"Those are the same odds you placed on the last match," Christine commented. "And look how it turned out."

"Yeah Bastion. Have a little faith in them," Jeremy suggested.

"Enough with the pleasantries," Para said.

"And on with the duel," Dox filled in.

"We didn't come here to talk..."

"We came, to destroy you!"

"Crowler," Sheppard called out. "Don't you think this is going a bit far?"

"No, not at all. It's like I said. They broke a big time rule, so they should face big time opponents. And besides, the last two Slifers won their match, so Jaden and Syrus still have a chance." 'As small as it may be.' "Come now, we can't send the brothers back now, they've come so far."

"Oh, what does it matter? You're the one paying their travel costs." Crowler face vaulted at this. "Jaden, I'll leave it up to you. Good luck."

"These guys couldn't even beat male pattern baldness. So there's no way they're gonna be able to beat us."

"Oh how wonderfully clever," Crowler said, not amused. Then he spoke into the microphone again. "Duellists, prepare to battle." The Slifers and their opponents readied themselves. "The rules for this tag team duel will be the same as the last one. No sharing of strategies, advice and card not in play. But you may use what's already on your partner's field. Understood?"

"Yeah!" they all replied.

"Then let the duel begin," at that, Crowler hopped off the stage.

P&D: 8000

J&S: 8000

"Get your games on," Jaden said as the four duellists started their disks and drew their starting cards. He looked at Syrus who nodded.

"Here goes. I summon Gyroid in attack mode." Syrus' small, blue cartoonish helicopter appeared in front of him. (1000) "And that's all."

"You must be joking," Para commented. "I'm surprised that that thing even has an attack mode. This on the other hand, Jirai Gumo." A large brown spider appeared opposite of the little helicopter. (2200)

"What? An overgrown bug?" Jaden remarked. "This is nothing my deck won't be able to squash. Elemental Hero Burstinatrix, defense mode." The female fire hero kneeled down before Jaden. (800)

"The best defense you fool, is a strong offense. Kaiser Seahorse, attack mode." A blue and purple aquatic warrior with a double ended spear and a shield stood up on Dox's field. (1700)

'Okay. If I know duelling like I think I do, then these guys are sure to attack soon,' Syrus thought as he analyzed the field. To his surprise they didn't.

"I choose to play a spell card, Tribute Doll! To activate it, I must sacrifice a monster on our field. Good thing my brother is so generous with his." Para gave his brother a nod to go ahead. "Farewell Jirai Gumo." Black vines emerged from the spell and crushed the big spider. "I can now summon a level seven monster this turn. And I choose the wind guard, Kazejin!" A green head with a strange symbol of it and a pair of arms appeared in a gust of wind. (2400)

"He sacrificed his brother's monster to summon a better one for the team. Now that's tag duelling," Bastion commented.

"Would you mind trying to not sound so impressed Bastion," Alexis asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Any of you guys now what that... thing is?" Chumley wondered.

"Yeah," Jeremy replied. "Bad news. Especially if they get the other two guard monsters on the field. My dad told me about his tag duel against these guys, and what happens if they combine their three creatures."

"I don't like the sound of that."

The two brothers grinned as the Slifers looked in awe at their new monster. "Do you actually think you know anything of this game?"

"You're losers, you're jokes, in other words you're lame."

"And if they think this is starting to get gruelling..."

"Then wait until I give them a true schooling," Dox finished the rhyming. "I play Dark Designator. Thanks to this magic card, any monster I call out that's in my brother's deck is immediately put into his hand." He put on a look as if he were thinking. "Now let me see... Sanga of the Thunder."

Para chuckled as his picked out the names card. "What do you know, it's right here, ready to tear them asunder."

'You've gotta be kidding me.' Jaden thought. 'Another level seven monster?'

"The duel is just starting..." Para said tauntingly.

"Yet it is almost done," Dox filled in.

"For your demise has already begun," they spoke the last part simultaneously. Syrus looked nervous at their words.

"Don't worry Sy, they're just saying that because it makes for an easy rhyme," Jaden attempted to reassure him. 'Let's hope we don't make for an easy match. Still, better check out the field to make sure,' he thought as he looked over all the monsters. 'I've my Burstinatrix chilling in defense mode and Sy's got... well... his little helicopter thingy. Not bad, but not good. Especially compared to the serious opposition we're facing right now. Including some level seven green thing I've never even seen before.'

"Wadda you think Jaden? If we just quit right now, we'll have some extra time to pack up all of our stuff. So... shall we?" Syrus suggested.

"The only thing we're packing is some serious duelling punch," Jaden replied in his usual cheery voice. "I'm telling you, we'll beat these guys Sy."

"You know what Jaden, you're right," he said, more determined than before. 'We are packing some serious duelling punch. Not only am I gonna show the Paradox brothers, but I'm gonna show my brother as well. And I'm gonna do it right here, right now, on this turn.' "All aboard, I summon Steamroid in attack mode." A cartoonish steam train appeared beside the helicopter. (1800) "And I also play this, Polymerization. So I'm gonna fuse my Steamroid and Gyroid together to create the ultimate engine that could, Steam Gyroid." The two machines swirled around each other and when they were done, there was a combination that looked more like Steamroid, but with a slightly different look and helicopter blades around its mid section. (2200) "Now that's locomotion."

"Not a bad monster," Bastion commented. "But not exactly on the same level as Kazejin."

"Yeah. So we've noticed," Jeremy replied.

"See, you guys made a mistake in all that team work," Syrus pointed out. "By sacrificing Jirai Gumo, you left your brother completely defenceless. Meaning I can attack him directly."

"Uhh Sy?" Jaden tried to warn him.

"Steam Gyroid, attack Para directly."

"An attack!?" he said surprised.

"Got that right!" The members of the audience looked at Syrus' error with different expressions on their faces. The gray machine advanced forward, the blades spinning around itself.

"If you please brother,"

"It'd be my pleasure indeed brother. Kazejin, defend with squall barricade," Dox commanded his green monster. Obeying the command, it placed itself between Para and the incoming Steam Gyroid and pushed it back by blowing wind from its mouth. "Our monster's special ability, do you like?"

"It brings down your damage to zero, without even a fight."

"So I goofed," Syrus said in realization.

Crowler was giggling at seeing Syrus' performance. "Do these two actually think they have a chance at beating Para and Dox? They stink worse than dirty socks? Ha! Now they even have me doing it."

"Forget it Sy," Jaden tried to cheer him up. "No biggie."

"Yeah right."

"Hey I'm serious pal. Just keep going."

Syrus nodded at his partner's words. "All righty then. I play one card face-down and end my turn."

"At last a smart move," Para jabbed. "My turn. I play Monster Reborn and bring back the frightful Jirai Gumo." The big brown spider reappeared in front of him. (2200) "And I'll also activate another spell card. Tribute Doll."

"Not again!" Syrus moaned.

"Yes again! And again I will use it to sacrifice Jirai, so that I can summon yet another level seven monster. The guard of water, Suijin." The spider was once again wrapped by black vines and destroyed. And blue monster that looked like a pair of legs with a head in the mid section, on which was another strange symbol, appeared on the field. (2500) "And I am not done yet. Mind if I borrow a monster brother?"

"Please, that's why he's there."

"I sacrifice Kaiser Seahorse." The named monster was covered in dark fire as Para spoke.

"In case you did not know, when summoning a light attribute monster, Kaiser Seahorse's sacrifice counts as two instead of one," Dox explained.

"Which means I am now able to summon the guard of thunder, Sanga." A brown and red torso with arms and a face in the middle materialized next to the blue monster. (2600)

"Now I place those odds at 500 to 1," Bastion said.

"What're the odds of you being quiet," Alexis replied.

"Not lishus! They've got three monsters out."

"That's only the beginning. If they're about to do what I think they will…" Jeremy trailed off.

"Three monsters on our side, what could be better done?" Dox wondered.

"I know what brother, when they come together as one. Prepare yourselves. I sacrifice Suijin the guard of water, Kazejin the guard of wind and Sanga the guard of thunder. So that I can now summon the ultimate monster. Gate Guardian." The three monsters were surrounded by light and when it faded away, there stood a giant creature. Its upper body and arms were made of Sanga, the mid section was Kazejin without the arms and the waist below was Suijin. (3750)

"Gate Guardian!" Syrus exclaimed.

Jaden was as surprised as his friend. "He's gi-normous!"

"Just wait until you see his attack. Destroy Steam Gyroid. Tidal Surge Attack." The bottom part gathered water, while the upper harnessed thunder. The mid section combined the two elements with wind and shot it out towards Syrus' machine. The fusion monster was overcome in a second and the blast passed through it and hit Syrus.

J&S: 8000-6450

"This isn't a duel, it's target practice for the Paradox brothers," Bastion said with a frown. "And Sy's the bullseye."

"He's just made a few bad moves, that's all," Alexis attempted to remain positive.

"Let's just hope that Jaden can make up for them," Christine added. "Because as good as he is, he'll need Syrus to win this."

"The match just started, they've got time to turn this thing around," Jeremy said.

"I know it hurts…"

"And unfortunately for you, it only gets worse."

"If it gets as bad as this rhyming then we're in serious trouble," Syrus commented.

Crowler was watching the duel with glee. 'These two are duelling perfectly,' he thought. 'They know just what to do. After all, in a tag duel, once you take away the weakest link, the entire thing comes crumbling apart. And they've certainly found that, little Syrus. Poor little Syrus, he'd be the weakest link on a plate of sausages.'

Erik watched the duellists in silence. 'Well, I guess we're about to see if Jaden is as good as I've heard. If he isn't, then maybe he doesn't deserve to be here.' He looked at Jeremy and Chumley. 'Jeremy was able to keep it together and win with his partner's help and now it's Jaden's turn.'

'I hope Jaden's got something special in that deck of his,' Syrus thought as he despaired. 'Or this match is over, and so are our lives at the academy.'

"Well, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Let's take this thing down!" Syrus looked doubtful at his partner's words.

"I can't wait to see you try, so I will end my turn with a face-down card," Para challenged.

"Then it's time to go to work! Here goes," Jaden said as he drew. 'Sweet! All right, you're getting called up big guy.' "First, I'm gonna summon the Elemental Hero Clayman." The large stone warrior appeared next to the female fire hero. (800) "Then I'll play Polymerization. So I can fuse Clayman and Burstinatrix to create, the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster." The two designated monsters were sucked in the vortex and came out as one. The new hero had a feminine look, wore armor resembling Clayman's body, a helmet, a red shield on the left arm and the right one was a missile launcher. She kneeled down in front of Jaden. (2500) "She's bad."

"Yeah, she's bad, but not as bad as that Gate Guardian," Syrus pointed out. "She only has 2500 defense points, that guardian's attack points are 3750. Blaster will get blasted."

"Don't sweat it, that's what her special ability's for Sy. When she's in defense mode, Rampart Blaster can attack an opponent directly."

"Our life-points!" The brothers exclaimed in shock.

"Now go Rampart Blaster. Blast em with Rampart Barrage." The armored female hero shot two missiles from her arm, each hitting one of the brothers. "Sure, it's only half the points you'd normally lose, but hey it's a special effect, what're you gonna do?"

P&D: 8000-7000

"A lucky move," Dox muttered.

Syrus cheered at his friend's successful hit. "All right, we're back in this thing!"

"Sy, we we're never out of it!"

'Yeah, Jaden's right. We can win this!'

"My turn," Dox announced. "I'm activating the equip spell Fairy Meteor Crush. And I'm equipping it to our Gate Guardian. Now when he attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between his attack points and your monster's defense points, come straight out of your life-points."

"Now so fast," Syrus barged in. "You forget, I have a face-down card. Now I'm activating, Mystical Space Typhoon! It destroys one spell or trap card out in play. And I'm gonna use it on the card you just played, Fairy Meteor Crush." A tornado emerged from Syrus' magic card and sped towards Gate Guardian.

"You fell right into my trap!" Para's face-down card flipped up as he spoke. "I activate Judgement of Anubis. Foolish boy, this allows me to stop your spell simply by discarding one card. Your typhoon has just been downgraded to a cool summer breeze." The tornado thinned out until there was nothing left of it. "But wait, there's more to it than that. Anubis also destroys one of your creatures." The Rampart Blaster exploded, the winds of the explosion hitting both Slifer students.

"And then its attack points are dealt back to you. Pretty cool special feature!" Dox explained.

J&S: 6450-4450

"I know it feels like we have your backs to the wall, but in fact the wall's right in front of you." A gray brick wall came together in front of Dox. It had a face in the middle and pipes that made up its arms. (2100) "It's called Defense Wall. And as long as it's in defense mode, all the monsters you have, can attack only him."

"The Gate Guardian on offense and that wall on defense. Almost flawless," Bastion commented.

"I get it!" Alexis said, annoyed at him "Now are you gonna be quiet or should I move?"

"Seriously Bastion, as much as the Paradox brothers are doing well, you need to start cheering for Jaden and Syrus instead," Christine suggested.

"Yeah, what she said," Chumley added.

"It's your turn," Dox pointed out to Syrus. "What're you waiting for?"

"Uhh, to be honest, a miracle," Syrus mumbled to himself. He looked disappointedly at the card he drew. "I summon Cycroid, in uhh, defense mode." An orange, one-eyed bicycle appeared on Syrus' field with its handlebars in a defensive position. (1000) 'Aww man, Jaden's looking at me, I can feel it. I know it's a weak monster, but it's the best I can do right now.'

"You summon a bike?" Para said mockingly. "Well it's about to get a major flat. Gate Guardian, Tidal Surge Attack." The giant once again combined water, thunder, wind and fired it from its mid section's mouth. The elements crashed through the bike who futilely tried to defend itself. "And don't forget about the effect of the Fairy Meteor Crush. The difference between Gate Guardian's attack points and your monster's defense points come straight out of your life-points." The giant charged up its attack again and shot it out at Syrus, who cried out as he was hit.

J&S: 4450-1700

Chumley, Jeremy, Bastion, Alexis and Christine gasped upon seeing this.

"Your life-points are falling..."

"Your game play's appalling..."

"There is nothing left to do except give up and start bawling." Jaden's face was hidden as his friend and most of the audience was looking at him.

"What's Jaden doing?" Alexis wondered.

"He isn't giving up is he?" Chumley asked.

"With what they've been put through so far..." Bastion muttered.

"I'm sure he wouldn't do that," Christine replied.

"Don't worry guys. I know him well enough, and he's not one to give up," Jeremy said with certainty.

"Look at the field. It's two monsters to none," Bastion pointed out. "It's a simple calculation to figure... they'll be knackered."

"Nice going Bastion," Alexis said sarcastically. "Now you're putting them down using words I can't even understand."

"What does knackered mean?" Chumley enquired.

"Let me put it this way Chumley. It's not something good," Christine explained.

"Can we forget about that please?" Jeremy said as he focused his attention back on the duel. "Let's just concentrate on the duel, if at all possible. Or else we'll miss whatever Jaden has planned."

"I'm sure Jaden's fine and that he has a plan," Bastion agreed. "It's Syrus I'm worried about. So far he's managed to walk into every trap, spell and attack the Paradox Brothers have played. He's duelled horribly."

"On second thought, I think I liked it better when I couldn't understand you," Alexis commented.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Bastion said as he shut up.

Chazz was grinning at the thought of seeing Jaden and Syrus lose. 'Finally, those Slifer slackers are getting the beat down they deserve! I can't wait until they lose and get expelled from the academy, especially that loser Jaden. That slime! Thinking he can become the next king of games. That's gonna be my title! And no talentless red jacket slackers will get in my way.' Chazz briefly glanced at Jeremy. 'Including him! When his friends are gone, I'll take care of that guy myself. He wins against Mat with a coin toss, beats me with nothing more than luck and then he only wins his elimination match because of Chumley. He doesn't deserve to be here any more than Jaden.'

Crowler was chuckling to himself. "I'm a genius, a pure genius! First I lure them into the Abandoned Dorm, then I arrange this tag duel as punishment, then I hire the world's best tag duellists to make sure they lose and get expelled." He then burst into laughter.

"So Crowler, enjoying the boys' punishment a little too much are we?" Crowler had forgotten that Chancellor Sheppard was sitting behind him.

"Oh my, no you misinterpret," he replied nervously. "I'm only laughing because I'm happy that the duel's almost over. After all, our poor students look so weary. I'm thrilled their suffering is nearly finished."

"Really? Because it doesn't look like they're suffering so much to me. In fact, Jaden looks like he's just getting his second wind." Crowler looked at the specific Slifer Red student and saw him with his head raised and a look of determination on his face.

"Well, well. The Slifer Red forges ahead," Para remarked upon seeing Jaden's look.

"When a smart duelist would have fled," Dox filled in.

"Oh man, I'm starting to wish that the academy had made us Slifers orange. Then we wouldn't have to put up with so many of these awful rhymes." The two brothers frowned at his comment. Jaden's spirit monster appeared beside his head and cooed. "I know, I don't think they got it either."

"Forget about our rhyming…"

"Just focus more on your card play."

"For the partner you have…"

"To win you have a long way."

Syrus moaned at their words. "Don't you listen to em Sy. OK?"

"But they're right."

"No they aren't Sy. Know why? Cause you're gonna be the one to take that thing down," Jaden pointed to the Gate Guardian. "So let's go. First, I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode." The gold and blue hero appeared in a shower of electricity. (1600) "And next, I'm gonna equip him with this, Spark Blaster." A small rectangular gun materialized in Sparkman's hand. "With each blast fired, I can change the battle mode of any monster I choose. And I'll start with, Gate Guardian. Take a knee, you're going to defense mode." The electric hero shot a blast from its weapon that coursed over the giant monster, forcing it to drop down and cross its arms. (3400)

"Well that was certainly an odd choice. Unless he has something else planned, I'm afraid he's wasted his move." The Obelisk girls and Slifer boys simply continued to watch the duel, instead of making a remark about Bastion's comment.

"You must be a fool. When Gate Guardian's on defense he never tires. Your situation's just as dire."

"And though I hate to feed the fire, the Defense Wall we played you have yet to retire."

"Yeah, great. I'm just gonna thrown down a face-down and end my turn."

"Fine then, my draw. I'll simply place one card face-down. No more, no less. Brother, you do the rest."

"Excellent decision, I think it's for the best."

"For I'm quite sure that next turn I'll' win us this contest."

"Aww man," Syrus moaned. "Jaden, you heard them. Next turn they're gonna take us out. They're no point to me even drawing. If I just give up maybe they'll let you have a rematch then."

"Listen to me Syrus. One draw, that's all it takes to turn an entire duel around. You remember what happened last time you had one draw right?" Syrus' mind wandered to the specific moment he was referring to.

"You'll never get out of this." The four Slifer boys were in their room. Jaden and Syrus sitting across from each other dueling on a mat.

"Yeah, I give. Let's have a rematch. But first, let's see what I would've drawn." Syrus picked up his deck's top card. "Whoa! This changes everything."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't change the fact that you already gave up the match though, right?" Jaden asked nervously.

"You get what I'm saying Syrus?" Jaden asked, back in the present. "There's no such thing as a last draw. Cause with the right card, you can always get another draw."

"But…"

"No buts about it. Make your move pal. I know you can do it Sy. It's all up to you."

'I know Jaden. That's what I'm afraid of. My next draw could win us the match, but it could also end with getting us kicked outta here. The only way we won't lose is if I beat that Gate Guardian." Syrus suddenly remembered a duel he's had with Chumley and a combo he'd used that could help them.

Jaden looked at the cards Syrus held as he was sitting across from Chumley. "Whoa! That card is sweet," he said pointing to one in particular. "With the right combo it could beat anything. So can I have it?"

"No I'd rather not," he replied."

Jeremy laughed at seeing Jaden put his hands in front of himself and beg. "Pleeeeeeeease?"

The flashback faded as Syrus' thoughts returned to the present again. 'That's it. That one card is the only chance we have. But if I don't draw it, we're done. Jaden and me, all our hopes of becoming the best, everything we've ever dreamed about. Our friendship, our fun, our future, it'll all be over unless I get that one card.' "Here it goes." Syrus then drew his card, his expression lightening up as he saw it. "Jaden!"

"Sy, you got it?" Syrus nodded. "Then show em the drill."

"All right, I summon Drilloid in attack mode." A purple and beige cartoonish machine erupted from the ground. It had tracks and a drill on its front, as well as on its arms. (1600) "And guess what, when Drilloid fight a monster in defense mode, it's automatically destroyed." The two brother's eyes' widened at this. "So open wide!" Syrus' machine sped in the direction of the Gate Guardian. Halfway through, Defense Wall interspersed itself in its path, but was destroyed when the drill broke it down.

Chazz chuckled to himself. "Those two must have forgotten that Defense Wall intercept any of their attacks."

"A nice try," Para commented.

"But not nice enough," Dox finished.

"Gate Guardian still stands…"

"Despite your best stuff."

"But that wasn't his best stuff. Right Sy?"

"Yep. But now that your Defense Wall's been reduced to rubble, you'll get it. Or at least a certain monster will anyway. I activate the spell Shield Crush." A magic card appeared on Syrus' field. It showed a beam a green energy crashing through a shield. "And just like the name says, it destroys any monster that's trying to hide in defense mode. Like, that Gate Guardian." A blast of green energy shot out from Syrus' spell card. It crashed over the giant monster, overcoming it quickly.

"Gate Guardian is cooked," Para said.

"I can hardly look," Dox added.

"Nice going Sy, the bigger they brawl, the harder they fall." The crowd cheered for the two Slifers.

"No! This is supposed to be punishment! And the crowd's treating them like heroes! How can they be doing this?" Crowler asked. "Chancellor Sheppard, tell me you're watching this."

"Yes, well done Crowler. These matches you set up are promoting team work and dueling fortitude. Fine job."

"Did you see that? Did you? Tell me you all saw that?" Bastion asked, shocked at the leap in progress his friends had managed.

"Bastion, we're sitting right next to you watching them in the duel of their lives. What do you think we're watching?" Alexis replied.

"But you know what's even more impressive than them beating that Gate Guardian?" Christine asked. "The teamwork that they used to do it. That's what they're gonna have to do to win."

"They're coming along just fine. Like you and I did. Right Chumley?" Jeremy asked his friend.

"Yeah, like you and me."

"Okay. I play one card face-down and end my turn." Syrus looked at Jaden. "Thanks for the pep talk."

"Hey, thank you for the sweet move."

"Mind if we join in on all the praise you two?" Para asked.

"Because for destroying Gate Guardian, we should really… thank you." Their two opponents looked confused at their words.

"They say what doesn't destroy you makes you stronger. And it's true. After all, we haven't been destroyed and we're about to become more powerful then ever. I play Dark Element. This spell card can activate whenever Gate Guardian is in the graveyard. Now by paying half our life-points, we can summon a monster that can't be beat in battle."

P&D: 7000-3500

Dark energy surrounded the magic card and went into the graveyard section of Para's disk. It came back out and then formed a vortex in the ground, from which arose a monster as gigantic as the first. It was a huge muscled man wearing black armor, an unusual helmet and carrying a large double sided axe. From the waist down, instead of legs was a big mechanical spider. (3800) "Dark Guardian!"

"Invincible in battle and has that many attack points!?" Bastion exclaimed.

"This is bad," Syrus said.

"Guardian, attack Drilloid with, Axe Slash Bash."

"That's it," Bastion cried out. "If this connects they'll lose."

"Jaden!"

"Syrus!"

"Uh oh!"

Predictably enough, Chazz and Crowler were chuckling in anticipation. The guardian swung its axe, producing a massive energy wave aimed at the drilling machine. "Farewell," Para said.

"Not yet," Jaden stepped in. "I reveal my face-down Hero Barrier. Sorry fellas, but this lets me stop one of your attacks so long as I have an Elemental Hero out. And as you can see, Sparkman is standing tall." A blue shield surrounded Drilloid, stopping the attack right in its tracks.

"Now that was a close one," Bastion said in relief.

"An impressive trap card."

"I never quite thought they'd be so hard."

"I know, we bombard and bombard. Oh well, at least our precious Dark Guardian…"

"Has kept up his guard."

"Quite right brother. He won't be blasted to shards."

"He'll finish them off next turn."

"And this duel will be ours."

Syrus sunk to his knees in despair. 'Just when I step up my game, they step up their even more.'

"Here it comes," Crowler giggled to himself. "The moment I've been waiting for. The moment when these two lose and get expelled."

"Chin up Sy," Jaden said cheeringly. "This match isn't over yet."

"But Jay…"

"But nothing Pal. Stand up." 'Cause you'll want a good view for what I'm about to pull off.' Syrus managed to make himself stand straight.

"It looks like the boy still wants to proceed."

"Really? I thought surely for mercy he would plead."

"No, he would need smarts to know when to concede."

"Can it you two!" Jaden said as he drew. "It's my turn. And I activate the spell card Pot of Greed. So I get two more cards from my deck. And next I'll play Fusion Gate. With this, I don't need Polymerization. I can summon all the fusion monsters I want. So I'm gonna start by fusing Elemental Heroes Avian, Bubbleman and why don't we throw Sparkman in as well." Sparkman turned into a yellow light, Avian a green one and Bubbleman a blue one. "All to create, wait for it…" The three lights swirled around each other. And there he is. The Elemental Hero Tempest." The new monster was a muscular man wearing blue armor, had untamed green hair and a blue visor covering his eyes. He had wide green wings with white metallic feathers and in the place of his right forearm, was a silver cannon. (2800)

"Fine creature," Bastion commented. "But it still can't beat their guardian."

"Bastion! Just whose side are you on," Alexis and Christine snapped at him.

"Jaden knows what he's doing," Jeremy said.

"An impressive move, but it is useless, boy."

"Have you forgotten about Dark Guardian? He's still deployed. And since in battle he can't be destroyed…"

"Their beast is null and void."

"Void this! Skyscraper." Jaden inserted the named card into his disk and tall city buildings appeared around them. "Ever hear that you should never play in a construction zone? Well it's true, cause now my Elemental Hero Tempest gets an extra 1000 attack points because it's weaker than Dark Guardian." (2800-3800)

"What the…"

"Now, Hero Tempest, attack with Powerhouse Plummet." The winged hero charged up its cannon and dove at the enemy. It slammed its arm into the giant and released the pent up energy, causing winds to kick up around them.

"Didn't I warn you? In battle he can't be beat. Your Elemental Hero Tempest has been wasted. So just accept…"

"Your defeat."

"Sy, can you spare a card?" Jaden asked his partner.

"Sure."

"I use Tempest's special ability." Syrus' face-down card disappeared. "Sorry you guys, but so long as sacrifice one of our spells or traps, Tempest isn't destroyed." The two monsters still intact, Jaden's hero distanced himself and flew back to his side of the field.

"Nice work wasting your attack there, slacker," Chazz said.

"I don't get it. Was Jaden hoping for a tie?" Alexis asked. The others shrugged as a response.

"Clever," Zane said to himself. "So long as Syrus knows what to do next."

"Jaden…"

"Hey trust me. It's all good. This'll all work out if you play the right card come your turn."

"If he has a next turn," Dox said as he drew. "I play the trap card, One-on-One Fight! Thought I'm sure you'd prefer to run and hide, this forces both our strongest monsters to do battle. So I hope that your Elemental Hero Tempest is up for a rematch."

"But why?" Syrus asked. "It'll only end up in a tie again. What's the point of attacking?"

"I have my reasons."

"And they're sneaky ones," Alexis commented. "For Tempest to keep tying Dark Guardian, Jaden will have to keep sacrificing cards."

"And whatever edge they give him," Bastion added.

"But the only card they've got out is Skyscraper," Chumley said. "Which means…"

"Well, I hate to do it, but I have no choice. Guess I gotta get rid of Skyscraper." The building crumbled down, causing Tempest to lose his extra points. (3800-2800)

"So you saved your monster," Dox said. "But not your life-points." The energy waves from Dark Guardian passed through the flying hero and hit the two Slifers.

J&S: 1700-700

"That's all for me."

"But I give you my guarantee…"

"Next turn this duel will be our, just wait and see."

"All right Sy, it's up to you. Just remember what I said."

"Oh right." 'That this would all work out if I played the right card.'

"Got it Sy?"

"I think." 'Playing the right card… that goes back to what my brother was saying. The difference between knowing how to use a card and knowing how to play it. But do I know the difference?' Everyone was looking at Syrus in anticipation. He looked at his brother and saw him watching.

Then in his own mind, he could see his brother standing with his back to him. "Hey Zane? What's the difference between knowing how to use a card and knowing how to play it? Aren't they the same?"

Zane turned head to look at Syrus. "That's something that can never be taught, only learned. It takes a moment of pure clarity, when you see dueling on a different level. A higher level, all the angles, all the moves. You won't think, you'll just act."

Syrus came back to himself. 'All right. Enough thinking, it's time for action.' "Here we go," he said as he drew his card. "Ok, first off, I sacrifice Drilloid, to summon UFOroid." The drilling machine disappeared and was replaced by a simple flying saucer with the same cartoonish look as Syrus' other monsters. (1200) "And also, I activate the spell card Power Bond. This let's me fusion summon a machine type monster. And I have just the two monsters in mind. Jaden, do you mind?"

"Hey, what's mine is yours."

"Then I'll combine UFOroid with Tempest, to create UFOroid Fighter. The flying saucer transformed into a hovering platform which Tempest stood on. "And it gets better. His attack points are the sum total of the attack points of both monsters fused." (4000)

"I matter not, so stop your ceaseless prattle."

"You know Dark Guardian can't be destroyed in battle."

"That may be, but, it doesn't really matter. Cause Power Bond has a special effect that doubles my Roid Fighter's attack points." Tempest cried out as he was powered up. (4000-8000)

"8000 attack points!?" the brothers said, stunned.

"Sure, your monster will survive the attack, but you can't say the same thing about your life-points. Now let's go. Roid Fighter, attack. Cosmic Flux Blast." Tempest shot a blast of blue energy that hit Dark Guardian. The enemy monster let out a cry as it passed through him, going on to hit the Paradox brothers.

P&D: 3500-0

"Way to go!"

"Oh yeah!"

"Well, well, they've won. I'm getting more impressed every day," Bastion had a smile as he spoke.

"I'm just happy that Jaden get's to stay here," Alexis said.

"Jaden and Syrus you mean?" Bastion asked.

"Well yes, Syrus too, of course. I just said Jaden because… well… I just thought his name first."

"Is that so?" Christine asked with a slightly mischievous smile across her face. "Are you sure there aren't any other reasons for that?"

"Well… umm… no," she replied simply. "Let's just go and congratulate them."

Chazz growled angrily. "I'm outta here." He then got up and stormed out of the arena.

"It can't be." Crowler fell down in his surprise. "How'd they possibly win? It's not fair."

"How?" Banner said as he kneeled down to his level, with Pharaoh in his arms. "Because of your superb teaching or course. Oh wait, they're in my dorm." Pharaoh reached out and licked Crowler's face.

The Obelisk teacher reacted strongly to such. "That furball just licked me! Does he have rabies!? Show me his papers! Call the pound!"

"Let it out Syrus, I know you cry out when you're happy."

"No way. Not the new Syrus." He managed to contain himself for all of about one and a half seconds before breaking out.

"Nice dueling guys!" Jeremy congratulated them as him, Chumley, Bastion, Alexis and Christine came to them. "That was awesome!"

"I agree," Chancellor Sheppard said. "You all proved to everyone that you have the skills and more importantly, the will to be a part of the academy. You're all here to stay." The four Slifers and their friends cheered at this.

"Oh and you guys," Jaden talked to the defeated brothers. "Let me just say it was a great honor. And if you ever want a rematch, just holler."

"Well said Jaden," Sheppard commented. "And I'm sure it'll be even better written." Jaden's eyes bulged outward. "I'd like a five page report from all of you," he addressed the four Slifers. "I want to read all about what you've learned in your tag duels. And how it helped you realize that trespassing into the abandoned dorm was wrong."

Jaden's shoulders fell down at hearing the requirements. "Talk about a bummer."

"How about ten pages then? And single spaced too."

"I'll make sure they get it done Chancellor," Banner assured him.

Jeremy elbowed Jaden lightly in the stomach. "You should really learn when to shut up."

"Ten whole pages!" he cried out. "How can I write all that? I've never even read that much."

Syrus looked at his brother in the distance. 'I wanna think I impressed you Zane, that I dueled at that higher level, that I showed you I can play a card and not just use it. But I know I still have a long way to go.' Zane turned around and walked away, a small smile on his face.

"Ten whole pages!" Jaden continued on his rant. "Single spaced? It'll take beyond forever!"

"Oh be quiet Jay. We've gotta do it to do in case you forgot," Jeremy pointed out.

"Cheer up Jaden," Chumley said. "At least we're all here to stay."

The crowd applauded the four Slifer boys loudly. Jaden bad mood faded away suddenly. He gave the crowd a two fingered salute. "That's game!"

* * *

Thank you for everyone who took the time to read this, even though it was pretty much the same as in the show. If you don't mind taking the extra time to write a review, that would be greatly appreciated. Whether you're just pointing out an error, saying what you thought of it, or making a suggestion. Once again, I'm sure I wanted to add something, but I forgot what, so I'll leave this until I remember it. Next chapter: Crowler arranges for Bastion to duel Chazz, with the chance for him to be an Obelisk. Chazz tries to play dirty, but doesn't quite manage to pull it off.


	14. Cheaters Never Prosper, Chazz Included

Disclaimer: See the previous chapter, It'll tell you all you need to know.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Cheaters Never Prosper, Chazz Included**

It was a bright day at Duel Academy. While some students were sitting in classrooms, a group of them were taking part in gym class. More specifically, they were divided into two teams and were playing baseball. In the field were the Ra Yellow boys and at bat were the Slifer Red boys. They all wore their gym suits, but they each had a bandana tied around their arms in the color of their respective dorms. The Slifers had a 3-0 lead, with two outs, a runner on first base and Jeremy getting ready to swing. "Watch closely guys," he told his team mates. "This one's gonna go super fast."

"Hope you're ready," the Ra pitcher said.

"You bet I am," he replied as he positioned himself for the swing. The pitcher threw, but Jeremy didn't bother swinging as it was out of line.

"Ball," the umpire called.

The next one came in fast, but missed also. "Ball."

Jeremy focussed intently as the pitcher readied himself for the next throw. The ball was dead centered over the plate this time. Jeremy swung the bat hard and made contact with the ball. It flew straight past the pitcher's left side in a line drive that would make a professional proud. It continued onward until reaching the outfield player who was closest. He caught it straight in his glove, but it had hit so hard that he dropped the ball. Jeremy and the other Slifer each advanced by one base during the time that it took for the Ra's to regain control. "Sorry about that," he said to the boy who'd received the ball.

Jaden picked up one of the bats and positioned himself at the home plate. "Remember Jaden, keep your eye on the ball," Syrus said.

"That's gonna be hard to do. Once I send it straight out of the park," he replied confidently. "First Brian'll score, then Jeremy, then me. We'll have a six run lead."

The Ra pitcher prepared to throw when he was interrupted. "Hold on! Time out!" Everyone looked in the direction the voice had come from and they saw Bastion running to the field. "Sorry, I was deep in some attack point quantum mechanics and lost track of time," he explained to his team mates.

"Sure. Can you pitch?" one of them asked.

"Sure."

"Pitcher change," one of the students called.

Bastion took the place of the current pitcher who tossed him the ball. "Hey Bastion," Jaden said. "This isn't some written exam, this is baseball. And the ball's gonna go flying away."

Bastion smiled self assuredly at the comment. "Oh don't worry Jaden, I've done all the calculations. Now I hope you're ready for some heat, because this one's coming in red hot."

"Then bring it on!"

Bastion threw a fast ball straight over the plate. Jaden swung and missed. "Strike one."

Jaden missed the second. "Strike two."

And the third as well. "Strike three. You're out."

"Aww nuts!"

The two teams changed places. Jaden going as pitcher, Syrus as catcher and Jeremy went to first base. The first Ra up to bat was struck out and the second was eliminated by Jeremy at first base. Strangely enough, Jaden threw so badly for the next three that they walked their bases. "Time out," Syrus called. "Jaden, what's going on? We've got two of them out and you just walked the last three."

"Pretty slick huh?"

"Don't tell me," Jeremy said as he guessed Jaden's purpose in doing so.

"Yeah. It was the only way I'd get to pitch Bastion."

"Are you saying... that you walked the last two guys just so you could get even with Bastion?" Syrus said in realization.

"Nope. I did it so I could get ahead. You hear that Bastion? You're going down!"

"Down the line maybe," he replied confidently as he stood prepared for Jaden's pitch. The Slifer players went back to their places. "Now give me your best shot Jaden. If you can even get it over the plate that is."

"You've got it coming." Jaden swung his arm back and threw a fast ball straight over the middle of the plate. To Jaden's surprise though, Bastion connected the bat with the ball and sent it flying in the distance.

At the same time as this was happening, Dr. Crowler was walking by himself nearby. He was contemplating the results of his schemes to get Jaden and Jeremy expelled. "Chazz couldn't beat Jaden, Alexis couldn't beat Jaden, Titan couldn't beat Jaden, even the Paradox Brothers couldn't beat him. Jeremy beat Erik, Christine and won his tag duel. It's high time I found someone that actually can beat either one of them."

"Heads up!"

Crowler looked in the direction he'd heard the warning, but didn't have enough time to avoid the soaring ball that hit him directly in the eye, causing him to fall over into a pile of sports equipment. Jaden, Syrus and Jeremy ran over to see where the ball had landed. "Now that's keeping your eye on the ball," Syrus commented.

Crowler was seething with rage at this. "Ahh yes, the three slackers. Who else could cause SUCH AGONIZING PAIN!?" he screamed. The three Slifer boys leaned back in shock. "You're all going to be in so much trouble for this!!!"

"Sorry Dr. Crowler, it was my fault," Bastion explained in Jaden, Syrus and Jeremy's defense. "I'm the one who hit the ball."

The Obelisk Blue headmaster's expression immediately became friendly. "Ah yes, Bastion. Here I am looking for a new accomplice and you show up. There's no need to worry about this. I've been meaning to have my contacts changed and this is the perfect excuse." He took the ball out of his face, showing a large black eye. "I've been meaning to talk with you. Why don't you come along so we can have a little chat?"

"Ok, if you wish."

"Umm, can we have our ball back?" Syrus asked hesitantly.

"You three have caused enough trouble for now! Shoo, shoo!" Not particularly wanting to insist more than that, the three Slifer students ran off back to the ball field.

* * *

In Dr. Crowler's classroom, the students were waiting for him since he was still talking with Bastion. Chazz entered and sat in one of the top seats. "It's good to be at the top."

"Yo Chazz, what do you think you're doing?" another Obelisk asked him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he replied rhetorically. "I'm sitting in my seat."

"It's not your seat anymore. So move."

"What're you talking about? Of course it is. I even have my name tag right here." Chazz looked at the spot where he'd had his name tag, but was surprised to see that it was missing. "What!?"

"Sorry Chazz, but you were moved way over there," the other Obelisk replied unsympathetically.

Chazz looked at where he was pointing and saw that "What? This is all wrong. That's with all the losers. I don't belong with them." Crowler walked to the front of the class at that moment. "Dr. Crowler, tell me this is a mistake. Tell me I belong up here."

"I'm afraid that you don't. And you haven't since you lost against... who was it now? Ah yes I remember, Jaden Yuki, a Slifer! Oh and there was also that little match against Jeremy Wheeler, another Slifer! Therefore, tomorrow you're going to duel against Bastion Misawa. And if you lose to him as well, the two of you will switch dorms."

"You mean, I'd become a Ra Yellow duellist!?"

"Yes very good. Now if only you were as good at duelling as you are at listening, you might actually be able to win once in a while," Crowler said as he applauded mockingly.

Chazz ran out of the room, the other students' laughter following him. "I WON'T A RA!!!"

* * *

Since they were free after gym class, Jeremy, Jaden and Syrus met up with Bastion who invited them to come over to his room in the Ra dorm. "All right, maybe that last one wasn't a foul," Jaden admitted about Bastion's hit.

"Jaden, last I checked, over the center field fence was a home run," Syrus explained.

"Come on Jaden. It's all right that you don't the same amazing skills at baseball that I do," Jeremy bragged jokingly.

"You mean skills at making people drop the ball when they catch it?"

"At least I actually hit the ball and pretty good too. And even if the guy almost caught it, he still dropped it."

"Look, I play like I duel, with formulas." Bastion showed a baseball bat with a bunch of formulas written on it. "You see, I find that science, statistics, geometry, they play a role in every different aspect of our lives."

"Wow, I never looked at it like that," Jaden commented.

"So, do you have a formula for everything Bastion?"

The Ra student laughed a little at Syrus' question. "Come on, I'll show you." He led them into the Ra's dorm, which the three Slifers thought certainly looked better than theirs. Eventually they arrived to a room in particular. "Here we are," he said as he opened the door.

The three Slifers gasped. They could see formulas and equations covering almost every available space on the walls and ceiling. "And where's here?"

"My lab, my workshop and also my dorm room." He pointed to the wall next to his bed. "That area is for traps." He indicated the ceiling above his desk. "This one's for spell cards." He showed them another part of the ceiling. "And that's well... you get the idea."

"Hey Bastion, are you sure you aren't Einstein come back to life or something?" Jeremy asked jokingly.

"Thanks for compliment. Anyway, most of these I've memorized," he indicated the writing covering the walls and ceiling. "And as you can see, I'm running out of room. So..." He held up a mop and paint bucket. "Mind helping? I could use a couple extra hands."

"Sure thing." The four of them then began to whitewash the walls of Bastion's room.

"Hey check it out, I'm Michelangelo," Jaden said as he painted the ceiling while standing on a step ladder. The three other boys laughed at this. "Get it? Cause I'm painting on the ceeliing!" Jaden almost lost his footing, but in the process of recovering it he dropped the paintbrush on Syrus' face.

"Jay, you do realize this means war?" Syrus said.

"Come on Sy, it was an accident." Regardless of that, Syrus picked up a bucket of paint with the intention of throwing its contents at Jaden in retaliation.

"All right, that's enough," Bastion said. "Give me that paint." Syrus threw the paint at Jaden who abandoned the step ladder and jumped off of it, causing the paint to miss and splash Bastion right in the face. Jaden laughed at Bastion's paint covered face. "Funny is it?" He followed up the question by smacking Jaden with his paint rag.

Jeremy looked back from the wall he was attempting to paint, only to have a brush run across his face. "Ok, who just did that?" No one answered. "Well all right then." He armed himself with his own paint brush and entered into a four way paint war with the others.

* * *

After having terminated their little skirmish, the four boys washed up and managed to finish painting Bastion's room. The Ra student brought Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus to his dorm's cafeteria where they were invited to help themselves to the seafood offered. "I don't think I've ever had such a good time painting," Jaden said as he shoved a piece of fish into his mouth. Jeremy didn't add on as his mouth was too full. "You're alright Bastion."

"Yeah and so is Ra Yellow's food," Syrus commented.

"You flatter us," Bastion said as he brought his own tray over to sit down. "But I'm sure it isn't that much better than Slifer's."

Their eyes bugged out upon seeing the lobster on his plate. "Trust me, the closest thing we've got to lobster is Pharaoh's breath," Jaden remarked.

"Speaking of bottom dwellers, what were you talking to Crowler about earlier?" Syrus asked.

"Actually, he wants me to test to be an Obelisk," Bastion answered.

"Really?" Jeremy spoke, his mouth now void of food for the moment. Is that why you were cleaning up your room? Cause you're switching dorms? Well you deserve it. Congrats man!"

"Again you flatter me," Bastion said, listening to their praise.

"You're good! I saw your duel for the entrance exams. You whooped that duel proctor's butt. You'll totally pass Crowler test without breaking a sweat. You'll be an Obelisk Blue. And we can say we knew you when it happened."

"Well thank you." The three Slifers dug into their plates of food again, while Bastion had a bit of a sad smile.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Obelisk Blue boy's dorm, Chazz was sitting on the couch in his room, talking with the two figures shown on the television screen in front of him. Both wore suits and ties and had stern looks on their faces. The one on the left had brown hair, while the other had black hair and a little goatee. They also happened to be his older brothers, Slade and Jagger. "Got it Chazz?" Slade asked.

"Yeah," he replied unenthusiastically.

"I can't hear you."

"I said yes, I understand."

"Well you had better. The Princeton Brothers have a plan. We're following through on our ends of it and you had better do the same with yours Chazz."

Jagger spoke up. "Just think about it little bro. The worlds of politic, finance and duel monsters. If we control them all, we can control the world. But if you lose your duel tomorrow and get demoted... well we wouldn't want that to happen now would we? The future of the Princeton family depends on us all going through with this. So be the best and don't you dare lose!" The screen then shut off abruptly.

'Be the best?' Chazz thought to himself. He got up and looked through the window at Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus. 'How can I be the best when those lucky punks are out there?' He saw Bastion walking up to them and then they all went down the path towards the Slifer dorm. 'What's this? It looks like Bastion's heading off to the Slifer dorm to spend the night. That means that his dorm will be all empty.'

* * *

After having arrived back in their room, Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus had pulled Jaden's mattress onto the floor and he and Bastion were now sleeping on it. They and Jeremy, sleeping on his own bed, were snoring while Syrus and Chumley looked down at Bastion. "Hey Sy, what's the Ra guy doing here?" Chumley asked.

"He painted his room today," Syrus explained. "So we let im crash here for the night."

"But Syrus, he's a Ra Yellow. What if he wakes up and starts making fun of us, or decides he wants to duel one of us? How do you know we can trust him?"

"It's ok Chumley, he's cool. I mean, he let us eat at the Ra's cafeteria."

"Really? Then he can have my bed if he wants."

* * *

At the Ra dorm early in the morning, before the sun had risen, Chazz was sneaking up to Bastion's room. When he found the right door, he went to open it, but he saw the desk standing in the hallway. Searching through the drawers, he found a duel deck. He recognized it as the one Bastion had used for his entrance exam. 'Nice,' he thought. 'Without his deck Bastion won't be able to duel me. And I'll get to keep my place at the top.'

He got out and made his way to the docks. When he got close to the water, he tossed Bastion's cards away. One thing that he hadn't counted on however, was Christine walking up to him. "Hello Chazz," she said, causing him to turn around to face her. She was dressed in her Obelisk uniform and had her duel disk on her arm. "Out for a late night walk are we?"

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing, except for the fact that you're throwing Bastion's cards away."

"So what? I deserve to stay where I am, not get turned into a Ra reject. I'm just making sure it doesn't change."

"That's way low Chazz," Christine said with a frown. "If you're so puffed up about yourself, then maybe I should deflate you first." She held out her arm holding her duel disk.

Chazz laughed at this. "You maybe in the blue dorm as well, but you're not about to beat me." They both activated their disks and drew their first cards.

"Duel!"

Chazz: 4000

Christine: 4000

"I'll start this duel. I summon Vorse Raider in attack mode." The bestial fiend with a wicked curved axe in its hands appeared in front of Christine. (1900) "Then I'll set three cards face-down and end my turn."

"Alright then. I summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode." A humanoid machine with twin shoulder cannons hovered opposite Vorse Raider. (1800) "Then I'll also summon Y-Dragon Head thanks to Frontline Base." The red dragon machine appeared beside the first. (1500) "But that's not all. I play Quick Summon to bring out Z-Metal Tank." A yellow machine shaped like a tank's tracks appeared aside the others. (1500) "Now I'll combine them to create XYZ-Dragon Cannon ." The Dragon lost its wings and set itself on the tank, while the other machine dropped on top of it. (2800) "And thanks to his special ability, I can discard the last card in my hand to destroy your monster." The fusion machine charged up its cannons.

"Not before I play this. I activate Shrink and cut Vorse Raider's attack points in half." The fiend shrunk in size as it lost points. (1900-950)

"So, he's still leaving the field."

"That may be, but not because of your Dragon Cannon's effect. But by the effect of the Crush Card Virus." Another of Christine's set cards flipped up, revealing the dreaded virus trap. "By sacrificing Vorse Raider, your Dragon Cannon is history." Her monster turned into a sickly gray color and blew apart, causing Chazz's monster to rust until suffering the same fate.

"NO WAY!"

"I'm afraid so. And since you have no cards left, I'll go. And I activate Graceful Charity, so I draw three cards, then discard two. Then I summon Prometheus King of the Shadows." Another fiend monster appeared on Christine's field. This one with a flowing red cape, spiky golden armor around its chest and arms and darkness surrounding its body below that. (1200) "And before you say anything about his attack points, when he's normal summoned, I can increase his strength by 400 until the end of my turn for every dark attribute monster I remove from my graveyard. And there are three." Her monster was surrounded by darkness as it powered up. (1200-2400)

"Even if you attack, I'll still have some life-points left."

"Sorry Chazz, but this duel's already over. I play my third face-down, Escape from the Dark Dimension. This let's me summon one of my dark monsters that's been removed from play. So I can bring back my Vorse Raider." The axe wielding fiend rose again, but this time at full power. (1900) "Now attack him directly." Both dark monsters advanced on Chazz and struck him, one with its weapon, the other with a fist, causing him to fall down.

Chazz: 4000-0

"NO! This can't have happened!"

"It did. That's what you get for cheating like that."

Not wanting to stay around any longer, Chazz got up and ran away back to the Obelisk boy's dorm. One thing that he hadn't known about, was that Alexis and Zane had been watching from around the lighthouse. They'd seen him throw away Bastion's cards as well as the crushing defeat he'd just suffered.

* * *

Near the time when they'd normally wake up, Jaden, Syrus, Jeremy and Bastion were awoken by the sound of someone pounding on the door. "Jaden, Jaden wake up!"

Jaden got up and opened the door, revealing the card shop's owner, Dorothy. "What is it Ms. Dorothy?"

"I was unloading some goods at the docks when I saw them… cards tossed out into the water!" The four boys gasped at this and took in the direction she'd told them.

When they arrived, their eyes confirmed what Dorothy had said. A bunch of cards were floating on the water. "That's Ring of Destruction!" Jaden pointed to the trap.

"And that's Vorse Raider!" Syrus saw the monster card.

"Bastion, these are all your cards," Jeremy said.

"It my own fault. This deck was in the desk I moved into the hallway yesterday when we were painting."

"But who would do such a thing?" Syrus wondered in disbelief.

"Some one who doesn't want you to advance to Obelisk Blue," Jaden filled in. "I mean, this was your deck and now it's ruined."

"What're you gonna do now Bastion?" Jeremy asked. "Your promotion exam is in less than an hour."

"Don't worry about that. I have a plan."

* * *

The four boys arrived at the main duelling arena where Crowler and Chazz were waiting. "Ah, Bastion, you made it," he greeted him. "Oh and I see you brought some friends," he said as he noticed the Slifers with him.

"I hope you duel better than the company you keep." Chazz had a self assured smirk on his face.

"Wait a sec, Chazz is your test opponent? Then he must have been the one who tossed your cards," Jaden said in realization.

"Pardon?" Crowler asked.

"I don't know what he's talking about Dr. Crowler, I didn't do a thing."

"Oh, Is that so?" They all turned to see Zane, Alexis and Christine standing in the entrance. "We saw you Chazz, when you dumped Bastion's cards in the water. Normally I wouldn't snitch, but you don't mess with someone's deck like that."

"That's low Chazz, even for you," Jaden said.

"How do you know I wasn't throwing away my own cards? I guess Bastion and I just have similar decks."

"You're lying Chazz, you admitted to throwing his cards away," Christine said. "That is, just before I beat you in one and a half turn."

"Really?" the Slifers asked.

"Really," Zane replied. "Alexis and I saw it happen."

"Nobody call me a liar and nobody calls me a thief!" Chazz snapped. "You don't have any proof that I threw Bastion's cards away or that I duelled anyone last night."

"Fine, you're not and you didn't," Bastion said. "Let's just get on with the duel shall we?"

"But Bastion, what about your deck?" Jaden asked.

"There's no need to worry about that. A good duellist always has a spare deck at hand, or a few. You saw all my formulas, well they were for all my different duelling decks." Bastion opened up his jacket, revealing six pouches each containing a deck of duel cards in it. "And each one is as powerful as the next."

Chazz grimaced upon seeing his plan going down the drain. "Fine then, have all the stinking decks you want, I only need this one."

Bastion inserted one of the six decks at the same time as Chazz put in his own. They stood opposite each other and started their disks. "You're but a code to be deciphered, a theorem to be cracked. You're finished!"

"Bring in on, Ra reject!"

"Duel!"

Chazz: 4000

Bastion: 4000

"For your sake, I hope your ready. Because here comes the pain. I summon Chthonian Soldier." A warrior wearing pieces of dark armor and holding a curved sword appeared in front of Chazz. (1200) "And I'll play this face-down. That'll do it."

"Oh will it now?"

"Sound like Bastion has a plan," Jaden commented.

"I don't doubt he does," Alexis said as she, Christine and Zane walked up to the Slifer boys.

"Bastion's smart, he'll win this," Jeremy said.

"I summon Hydrogeddon in attack mode. Arise!" A column of brownish water erupted in front of Bastion. When it settled, there was a watery dinosaur monster of the same color with an amphibian tail. (1600) "Now attack Chthonian Soldier. Hydro Gust!" The brownish dinosaur let out a blast of water from its mouth that destroyed the opposing monster.

"I guess you didn't know about my soldier's special ability. Now you take the same damage that I did."

Chazz: 4000-3600

Bastion: 4000-3600

"Not bad," Zane commented.

"Bastion sure walked right into that one," Jaden said.

"I also activate a special ability. You see Chazz, when Hydrogeddon successfully destroys a monster in battle, I can summon another Hydrogeddon from my deck. So rise, Hydrogeddon." A geyser erupted next to the first dinosaur, from which appeared an identical one. (1600) "And my battle phase continues, which means I can now wage a direct attack on you Chazz. Now go Hydrogeddon, Hydro Gust." The second monster fired a blast of water at Chazz, knocking him down in the process.

Chazz: 3600-2000

"Whoa, sweet move!" Jeremy commented.

"Yeah, he just ploughed through even with Chthonian Soldier's effect," Jaden added.

"You'll pay for that," Chazz said as he got to his feet. "I activate Call of the Haunted. This let's me summon one monster from my graveyard. And the one in question is... that's right, Chthonian Soldier." The dark armored warrior rose from the grave. (1200) "Next I activate the spell Inferno Reckless Summon. Now we both get to summon in attack mode, monsters from our hand, deck and graveyard that have the same name as the one already on the field." Two more Chthonian Soldiers appeared beside the first, while another Hydrogeddon rose between the two others. (1200) x2 (1600)

"This doesn't make sense. It doesn't matter how many soldiers Chazz summons, they still don't have enough attack points to beat those Hydrogeddons."

"Not by themselves they won't," Zane said.

"I activate the equip spell card Chthonian Alliance. The monster equipped with this card gains 800 attack points for every monster with the same name as him. That brings his attack points to... well you're the math nerd, you figure it out." The soldier on Chazz's left was surrounded by dark energy and grew in size. (1200-3600)

"3600 attack points!?" Syrus said.

"Now attack!" The super powered monster swung its blade through the middle Hydrogeddon, taking out a chunk of Bastion's life-points in the process.

Bastion: 3600-1600

"Oh, oh, that's not good!" Jeremy commented.

"Bastion just lost over half his life-points!" Jaden said. "He's losing the duel."

"Bravo, good show," Bastion said as he drew, hardly affected by his large loss of points. "But it will be short lived. Rise, Oxygeddon." A pteranadon monster made of green air appeared from an oxygen geyser. (1800) "Now attack one of the 1200 point Chthonian Soldiers with Vapor Stream." The hovering monster spat out a blast of air that destroyed one of Chazz's weaker monsters.

Chazz: 2000-1400

"Forget already?" Chazz sneered. "When my Soldier's destroyed, you take the same damage as me."

Bastion: 1600-1000

"I'm not finished yet. Hydrogeddon, attack his other Chthonian Soldier." One of the two Hydrogeddons destroyed the weaker soldier, though causing Bastion to lose points as well.

Chazz: 1400-1000

Bastion: 1000-600

"Aww man, why does Bastion keep attacking? He's doing more harm to himself then Chazz." Syrus moaned.

"He's fine," Jaden reassured Syrus.

"Bastion's playing smart. The Chthonian Soldier equipped with Chthonian Alliance has 3600 attack points. Bastion would have to summon an incredibly powerful monster to defeat it. But without the others..." Chazz's remaining monster shrunk down to nearly its original size as its points dropped. (3600-2000)

"Oh I see, without the other Chthonian Soldiers, the big one loses most of its extra attack points!" Syrus realized.

"Right, to beat that thing, Bastion's gonna need to give up some life-points," Jaden said.

"Last, I place a face-down card and end my turn."

"Will it?" Chazz taunted. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, whizz kid. I sacrifice Chthonian Soldier and all the card in my hand to summon Infernal Incinerator. Bet you didn't see that coming." The soldier was wrapped in a ball of fire which then exploded in a cloud of smoke. A giant salamander like monster appeared, the top half of the Chthonian Soldier on its forehead. (2800) "Better break out your calculator, cause if you can't beat this guy this turn, you're done for."

"Even with that thing out there, I say Chazz is a little too confident," Jeremy commented.

"I know," Christine replied. "In our duel he completely overlooked the cards I had out except for monsters, just like he's doing now."

"And here's something else for you to add in. Infernal Incinerator gains 200 attack points for every monster you have on the field." (2800-3400)

"3400 attack points?" Jaden said in surprise. "With that many points, Bastion'll lose no matter which monster takes the hit."

"Now attack with Firestorm Blast." The giant monster launched a stream of fire from its mouth at Oxygeddon.

"Bastion!" the students watching cried out as the attack neared his monster.

"I reveal my trap card, Amorphic Barrier." A wall of ice rose in front of Bastion's monsters, stopping the blast of fire in its tracks. "When I have three or more monsters on the field, this cancels your attack and ends the battle phase. But nice try Chazz."

"Pff, so what? One turn, that's all it buys you, then you'll be all mine."

"I'm afraid there won't be a next turn."

"What?"

"You heard me, and I activate the spell card Bonding H2O. With it, I sacrifice two Hydrogeddons and one Oxygeddon to summon Water Dragon!" The three monsters turned into geysers that combined to form a tall serpentine-dragon made of water that let out a cry as it appeared. (2800) "And with less monsters on my field, Infernal Incinerator loses attack points." (3400-3000)

"Doesn't matter, my monster's attack points are still higher than yours."

"Better double check your work, because I've already done all the math!"

"All the math?" Crowler asked in surprise. "You mean that..."

"Bastion's had this planned from the very beginning!" Jaden realized.

Water Dragon created a tidal wave that crashed into Infernal Incinerator, washing away all its strength. (3000-0) "No, his attack points!" Chazz cried out.

"Indeed, that's Water Dragon's special ability. As long as he's out on the field, the attack points of fire attribute and pyro type monsters instantly become zero. Now Water Dragon attack! Tidal Blast!" The blue dragon fired a blast of water from its mouth, wiping out Infernal Incinerator, knocking Chazz off the stage and dousing the arena in water.

Chazz:1000-0

"A well played duel Chazz," Bastion said when the water receded. "But not well enough."

"Pure luck," Chazz replied. "You drew a lucky card and stumbled into a victory. That's the only way you won!"

"Perhaps, but luck tends to favor the prepared. And I was prepared to defeat you with a half a dozen other cards as well. You would have lost the duel one way or another. But deny it if you want, just like you denied throwing my deck into the ocean."

"If you insist, then look at this card I fished out." Bastion held out a wet card with writing on it. "I wrote the formula on it. There's always a chance that you could have written it, but then the math would have probably been all wrong. And from what we all heard, there were three people who saw you throw away my cards," he indicated Zane, Alexis and Christine. "And you lost to Christine even worse then you did to me."

"Too bad I couldn't have seen the duel," Jeremy said. "That would've been fun."

"Chazz, you lied, you stole, you cheated, you lost. You deserve to be demoted."

"This can't be!"

"Bastion Misawa," Crowler said. "Congratulations and welcome to Obelisk Blue."

"I'm afraid that I must decline the offer."

"What? But why is that?"

"When I first arrived at the academy, I decided I would only enter into the blue dorm when I became the number one student in the freshman class." Bastion turned his attention to the Slifers. "Jaden, Jeremy, out of all the new duellists, I think you two are the best."

"Hey thanks."

"Does that mean you want to settle this right here?" Jaden asked. "I mean seeing the duel really made me want to get my game on."

"Sorry, but not now."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because I have a lot of work to do before I duel either of you. Formulas to write, theorems to solve, equations to balance. You're good duellists, and I planned to be prepared when I face you. Don't worry, soon my dorm room will be filled with equations and formulas again, then we'll duel. Just you be prepared for it to turn out like that ball game. You know, the one yesterday when our team beat yours."

"You just keep dreaming Bastion. Baseball's a game, but duelling's my life!"

"Same here," Jeremy said.

"Until then."

* * *

I hope it was worth your time. I already have the extra duel written out for next chapter and I've got a fair bit of the rest planned, so it shouldn't take too long before I post it (of course, that depends on how much time I have on the computer). Next chapter: Jaden chases after a duelling monkey named Wheeler and the human Jeremy Wheeler faces off against a master duellist with a connection to Christine. Little hint: the chapter's title will be "Dueling Monkey, Soaring Dragon".


	15. Dueling Monkey, Soaring Dragon

Disclaimer: I'll just say it simply, I do't own Yugioh GX. There you have it.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Dueling Monkey, Soaring Dragon**

Nighttime hung over Academy Island like a blanket. Surrounding the academy's main building, the docks, the three dorms and all the other structures. One of which was located deeply enough in the forest. Silence reigned around this facility… at least until being interrupted by the sound of breaking glass. "**Warning! Warning!**" A voice spoke through speakers.

"_Code red! I repeat, Code red!_"

Inside of the facility in question, scientists and men wearing suits ran about, many of them holding tranquilizer guns. "We must hurry, we can't allow the specimen to escape," of the men in suits said.

In another part of the building, a monkey with a duel disk on its arm and an unusual helmet on its head was running out of a room. It jumped on a guard and hopped into the elevator. Then it climbed the cables until reaching a window where it broke through and ran away from the place.

* * *

The following morning, Chazz Princeton was walking away from the main building with his school bag slung over his shoulder. He looked at the academy with a sneer on his face. "Stinking Duel Academy. You demote me and laugh at me, well that's it." He walked further away from the school. "You won't be able to push Chazz Princeton around anymore."

* * *

At the same time, in the head office of the Kaiba Corporation, the CEO of the company was sitting at his desk when the phone rang. "Yes?" he asked as he picked up the receiver.

"Sir, call for you from the head of Schroeder Corp."

"Put him on line," he answered.

A brief moment passed before a voice spoke through the other end of the phone with a German accent. "Good day her Kaiba."

"Hello Ziegfried. I assume that you're calling about our deal?" he replied.

"Yes that is correct." The person spoke in an almost friendly taunting manner. "I have a proposition for you. I thought we could perhaps settle our deal with a duel. You have a daughter that goes to Duel Academy, do you not?"

"Yes," Kaiba said, sensing where this was going. "And you have a son, right?"

"That is so. Long story short, I propose we arrange for them to duel each other. If your daughter wins, I'll accept your offer. If my son wins, then you accept mine. Are we in agreement?" he asked in a manner that said he already knew the answer.

"Very well. We'll arrange the duel at the academy after the holidays."

"As you wish. Until then, her Kaiba."

After hanging up the phone, Seto Kaiba picked it up again and dialed a different number. A slightly tired voice answered. "Yeah? Who's talking?"

"How are you doing?" he asked in a more friendly tone.

"Oh, hey dad. It's all good here. Any reason for calling at this time of day?"

"I've just been talking with Ziegfried Schroeder. We've arranged to settle our latest agreement with a duel between you and his son, that is, if you're alright with that."

"Sure. Just one thing, if you don't mind, I'd like to suggest for one of my friends to take my place. I think he'd be better suited for the job."

"Really?" he asked, mildly surprised. "And who is this friend of yours?"

"His name's Jeremy Wheeler."

"Wheeler?" He sounded skeptical of the name.

"I know he's good dad. He's won his fair share of duels. He even defeated me after I used my Crush Card and Deck Devastation Virus combo."

"Alright, if you say so. But I still need to see for myself if he has what it takes."

"Ok, just try not to be too ruff on him. Later dad."

"See you soon."

* * *

Later on in the day, the students in Banner's classroom were waiting for the professor in question to come to class. Jaden and Jeremy were sitting together when Syrus ran through the door straight for them. "Guys, it's awful! He's gone!"

"Slow down a sec. Who's gone?" Jaden asked.

"Chazz," Syrus answered.

"And how is this bad news?" Jaden asked.

"Umm I don't know, because he's your big rival I guess."

"You're right. I need to have competition around."

"Hey, I saw Chazz packing up his things last night," one Obelisk said.

"I guess he couldn't stand losing that much and then changing dorms," another said.

"Who cares about him? We don't need someone like Chazz in the blue dorm who can't even beat a bunch of pathetic losers," another Obelisk spoke up.

"Sheesh, aren't they nice," Jeremy said sarcastically.

"Guys, I know Chazz might not be the nicest person around, but what if he's in trouble or something happened to him and he needs our help?" Syrus said.

"Good point. We can't let him just go off like that. We've gotta try and convince him to stay." Syrus and Jaden went out of the classroom. Alexis, Mindy and Jasmine left soon after. Jeremy was about to do the same, but he was interrupted by an announcement on the loudspeakers.

"**Attention! Jeremy Wheeler, please report to the chancellor's office. Jeremy Wheeler to chancellor's office immediately.**"

"Huh? What'd I do?" Jeremy wondered.

"Well why don't you go and find out?" Banner said. "It might not be as bad as you think."

"Ok then." Jeremy walked out of the classroom towards the chancellor's office.

Banner then noticed that Jaden and Syrus were missing, as well as Alexis, Mindy and Jasmine. "Now where did they go?"

* * *

Jaden and Syrus crawled out of a hole in a wall. As they dusted themselves off, they were joined by Alexis, Jasmine and Mindy. "You know, the school does have doors."

The two boys cried out in surprise. "Oh, hey girls, what're you all doing out here?" Jaden asked.

"The same thing as you guys. Looking for Chazz," Alexis answered.

"Really, I didn't know you cared about him that much." Syrus said.

"Chazz may not be the nicest person around, but he's an Obelisk and we stick together when we can," she explained.

"Well, that's good enough for me." The five students took off into the woods. They were so intent on their search that they'd failed to see a Kaiba Corp helicopter stationed on a cleared area of the main building.

* * *

In the time that his friends were searching for Chazz, Jeremy was making his way to the chancellor's office. As he was doing so, he was joined by Christine. "Hey, what're you doing in this part?" he asked.

"I need to come with you to Chancellor Sheppard's office," she explained.

"Alright, know what it's about?"

"You'll see when we get there."

A short moment later, and they both entered Sheppard's office. They could see the head of the school sitting at his desk as well as a man wearing a long white coat. "Ah, hello there," Sheppard addressed them.

The man in the white coat turned around towards the two students. He wore black clothing under his coat, had brown hair and a serious expression on his face. Jeremy recognized him in an instant as Seto Kaiba. "Is that...?" he asked Christine. She simply answered with a nod.

"Hello Christine," Kaiba greeted her.

"Hello father," she replied.

Jeremy's face showed how stunned he was by hearing this. "Did I just understand that correctly? Seto Kaiba… is your father?" Christine answered again with a nod. "Ooookaaay… It'd be a lie if I said I saw that one coming."

"So you're my daughter's friend," Kaiba addressed Jeremy.

"Yeah, that's right. It's an honor to meet you sir."

"I'll just explain why I'm here first. Do you know about the Schroeder Corp?"

"I know the name," Jeremy answered.

"The head of the company, Ziegfried Schroeder and I have an arrangement that we've agreed to settle with a duel after the holidays between his son and my daughter. Except that Christine suggested that you might be a better candidate and recommended that you should take her place."

"Really? You must have a lot of faith in me," Jeremy said to his friend.

"Put simply, I'm here to see if you're as good as she says," Kaiba explained.

"You want to duel me?" Jeremy said in surprise. "That is so cool! When's this gonna happen?"

"It's been agreed that the duel would wait until after classes finish. That way the rest of the students can watch as well," Sheppard filled in.

"I can hardly wait!" Jeremy said, exited at the idea of facing a duelist of such renown.

* * *

The Slifer boys and Obelisk girls had been walking through the woods until Alexis decided that she'd run out of patience. "That's it. CHAZZ PRINCETON, YOU'D BETTER COME OUT OF YOUR HIDING PLACE RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE IF THIS IS A TRICK, YOU HAD BETTER HOPE THAT I DON'T FIND YOU," she yelled at the top of her voice, scaring the wildlife around them.

"Yeah, I'm sure threats will convince him to come out," Jaden said sarcastically.

"I'm sure there a good reason he ran off," Jasmine remained calm.

"Maybe he snuck out to get me some flowers," Mindy said with a dreamy look. "My Chazzy's so romantic."

"Chazzy?" Syrus' face showed how strange he thought she was acting.

"You like Chazz?" Jasmine asked. "Last week it was Bastion, and the week before it was Zane. Who's next, little Syrus?"

"Well he is kinda cute."

"Look there," Alexis pointed to a bush. "Something's moving."

"Chazzy?"

"Must be. Alright, game's over, we found you. Come on out," Jaden said as they approached the bush.

A figure leapt from the bushes. In their surprise, they didn't have time to identify it before it crashed into them. A moment later and it ran back into the woods.

"Not Chazz," Alexis said.

"Try not human," Syrus added.

Three men wearing suits came into the group's view. One shorter with gray hair, one taller and one with sunglasses and holding a gun. "Where is it?"

"It's gone."

They all heard a girl's scream coming from the woods. "Jasmine!"

"Up there, in those trees." They could see the figure was in fact a monkey holding Jasmine and leaping through the trees with her.

"It's what she always wanted," Mindy said. "Some guy to sweep her off her feet."

"Yeah, some guy, not some monkey."

"There it is," one of the men said.

"Let's move."

"Wait, what's going on?" Syrus asked. "Just what is that thing?"

"Who cares," Jaden said. "It's got Jasmine, so we've gotta follow." At that the four kids ran after them.

The monkey carried Jasmine as it leapt through the woods, across a river and ending at a cliff with a tree. She repeatedly told the monkey to let her go, but it failed to produce results. When they got to the tree, she changed her mind and held onto the primate. "Don't let me go! Please don't let me go!"

The three men arrived soon after. "Aim and fire when ready," the tall one ordered.

"Sir, if I shoot now, I'd risk causing the girl harm."

"Blast it!"

The four students then arrived, upon which Jaden noticed the duel disk and strange helmet the monkey had. "Hey, that monkey's got a duel disk on. Either that, or its one weird looking banana."

"That's no banana," the short man said. "And that's not an ordinary monkey. His name's Wheeler and he's a trained duelist."

"A dueling monkey, named Wheeler? Wonder what Jeremy would think about that?" Syrus wondered.

"Wait, if he duels, then I wanna take him on," Jaden stepped up.

"Jaden, are you feeling alright?" Syrus asked.

"He's not sick, he's just gone bananas," Alexis commented.

"I bet if I beat this monkey he'll hand over Jasmine. So how bout it Wheeler? Ready to throw down?" Wheeler looked at Jaden. "That's right, let's settle this like men, or higher primates. Whatever works."

"How is it the two of them are communicating?" Syrus was perplexed by this.

"Either the training Wheeler's had, or Jaden's really a monkey," Alexis attempted to explain.

"Okay, if I win, Jasmine's free."

"And if you lose?" Jasmine worried.

"If I lose? Well, I kinda didn't think of that one. I guess if Wheeler wins, we'll let him go."

Jasmine wasn't reassured by this. "And where does that leave me?"

"Don't worry about that, it's not like he's gonna win anyway." The monkey gave a nod, set Jasmine down on the tree and leapt onto a rock. It screeched as it turned its duel disk on. "Wow, you really know how to work that thing. Now get your game on."

"I have a shot," the man with the gun announced as he took aim.

"No don't," the shorter one interrupted. "This duel is just the kind of field test he needs."

"Let's duel," Jaden said.

"Duel!" A computerized voice came from the helmet.

The students were shocked by this. "Whoa, it can talk?" Syrus asked.

"Please, that would be too unrealistic. The helmet reads his mind and talks for him," the short man explained.

Jaden got over his astonishment and drew his starting hand as Wheeler did the same.

Jaden: 4000

Wheeler: 4000

"Here I go," Jaden said as drew his card. 'Nice! Just what I need to grease this monkey.' "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman." The golden armored electric hero appeared on Jaden's field. (1600) "Alright, you saw my moves, now do yours. Get it? Monkey see, monkey do."

"Uhh Jaden, now might not be the best time for jokes," Alexis pointed out.

"My turn, my turn," Wheeler said through his helmet. He looked at his card for a moment before playing it. "Berserk Gorilla. Attack mode, attack mode!" A large brown haired gorilla with red eyes appeared in front of Wheeler. (2000)

"What's he, family?" Jaden joked. "Guess now we know who got the looks."

"Berserk Gorilla attack Sparkman. Attack! Attack!" The beast monster ran forward on its knuckles and slugged Sparkman in the gut.

Jaden: 4000-3600

"Now, one card face-down, end turn. Monkey see, monkey do! Better! I make monkey out of you, you!"

"Jaden, don't lose your cool," Syrus said.

"That might be hard Sy. After all, he is getting beat by a monkey," Alexis added.

"Hey, gimme a break, the duel's just started. And it's about to heat up." Jaden smiled at the card he drew. "Perfect. I play Polymerization and fuse Elemental heroes Avian and Burstinatrix to summon, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." The two heroes combined to form Jaden's signature monster. (2100) "And with Flame Wingman, I really will lose my cool. Attack with Infernal Rage." The winged hero blasted the gorilla with fire from it's dragon arm.

Wheeler: 4000-3900

"And thank to Wingman's superpower, you take damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points. So how's your cool?" Wheeler screeched as he was hit by a second blast of fire.

Wheeler: 3900-1900

"I'm the man," Jaden celebrated. "Not that you aren't a little bit. Uhh Wheeler, you calling it quits already?" he asked as he saw Wheeler sitting down, looking defeated.

"Does that mean he's finished?" Syrus asked.

"Oh please," the older man said. "He just made one mistake, that's all. But it won't happen again. At the lab he'd be punished for making the same mistake twice. He won't give up, he'll just get better." The kids gasped at the info.

"Top secret sir," the taller man whispered.

"Oh, right. Forget I said that."

"So monkey, you quitting already?" Jaden asked again.

"Never surrender, never surrender," Wheeler spoke through his helmet. "I summon Acrobat Monkey." A blue metallic monkey did a couple of flips before landing on the ground. (1000) "Next, play face-down. Trap, trap, DNA Surgery."

Jaden gasped. "DNA Surgery!? That changes all the monsters on the field to whatever type that monkey chooses!"

"I choose beast type, beast type." Flame Wingman kept his general appearance, but changed to look like a wolf. Acrobat Monkey turned into a real monkey under its armor. "Now I play, Wild Nature's Release!"

Alexis' eyes widened in realization of what was happening. "That card will increase the attack points of one beast or beast warrior by its defense points! Wow, this monkey really is good."

"And that's not good for Jaden," Syrus said.

"Acrobat Monkey, power up, power up!" The monkey monster's muscles expanded until its armor broke apart. (1000-2800) "Attack with Somersault Smash." As ordered, it leapt into a somersault and struck the Flame Wingman.

Jaden: 3600-2900

After doing so, Acrobat Monkey held its head in pain and then exploded in a shower of pixels. "Huh? Why'd that just happen?" Syrus was confused.

"Wild Nature's Release destroys the monster it's used on at the end of the turn," Alexis explained.

"Your turn, your turn!" Wheeler announced.

"Not bad Wheeler. Here goes." Jaden picked a card from his hand and was about to set it on his disk when they all heard monkeys near them that weren't Wheeler. He looked to the side and saw a bunch of other monkey behind some rocks.

"More monkeys!?" Syrus said.

"It must be a whole tribe of them," Mindy added.

"I see, that's why you escaped, isn't it? So you could get back to your family," Jaden said.

"Must win. Miss family, miss family," his helmet talked.

"I know you want to get back to your family, but I promised to get back Jasmine. And unless you let her go, I need to beat you. So I'll have to summon Elemental Hero Clayman." The stone warrior rose in front of Jaden. (800)

"DNA Surgery makes Clayman into beast type." The hero grew fur and turned into a creature that looked like a bear. "Fine by me, I'm still gonna play this, Courageous Charge. First, I pay 1000 life-points."

Jaden: 2900-1900

"Then I choose one of my monsters with 1000 attack points or less and if he deals damage to you, you also lose life-points equal to my monster's defense points. Now Clayman, attack him with Clay Clobberer." The bestial hero's fist passed through the dueling monkey who kneeled in defeat.

Wheeler: 1900-0

"And that's game. Now's the time for you to let Jasmine go."

Wheeler picked up Jasmine and put her on the ground. She ran to her friends and was met with an embrace. "Thanks for saving me," she said to Jaden. "But what about him?" she indicated the monkey. "I didn't like that he snatched me, but he deserves better than this."

"Alright you flea ridden failure," the man with the gun said. "Time to go."

Jaden placed himself between them and Wheeler. "Hold on. He doesn't belong with you, he belongs with his family."

"You're right," the short man said. "But he's coming with us anyway." The two other men pushed past Jaden and captured Wheeler in a net.

"Stop that!" they kids said.

"You don't scare me. You're just kids, whose gonna believe you. But don't worry, he won't miss his family, because I'm taking them all." The man with the gun aimed at the other monkeys.

He dropped his gun when a tabby cat hit him in the face. "Tsk, tsk Pharaoh. Naughty Kitty" The students turned to see Professor Banner pick up his cat.

"Who're you," the short man asked.

"Oh you know, just your average teacher, duelist, animal lover," he kicked up the gun and caught it in his hand. "If you gentlemen get what I'm saying."

The man growled, but knowing that his hopes of winning were gone, he and the others left.

They removed Wheeler's equipment until he only had the duel disk left. He made his way to the other monkeys. "It's like a family reunion," Syrus commented.

"Hey let's duel again sometime." Wheeler waved back at Jaden. "Yeah me too. That was a really fun match."

"Uhh Jaden… you know his helmet is gone right?" Syrus pointed out.

"It's a good thing you showed up," Mindy said to Banner. "Otherwise they would have taken him away for sure."

"How'd you find us professor?" Alexis asked.

"Like I said, I'm an animal lover. It'd be hard not to be with a cat that can track as well as Pharaoh."

"But why were you looking for us to start with?" Jaden asked.

"Well I wanted you to know that Chazz is all right."

"That's great," Jaden said.

"Unfortunately, there is some bad news as well. Come with me." Banner led them to the docks. "You see, Pharaoh led me here, but when I arrived Chazz was already leaving on his family's personal boat."

"Well that's a shame," Jaden said.

"Yeah, I guess he did make things more interesting around here," Syrus agreed.

"I'm sure he'll be back sometime," Jaden regained a positive attitude. "After all, good rivals are hard to find."

"Yes, and do you know what is not? Class. And since you five got out early, you have some making up to do." The all groaned as they walked back to the school.

* * *

Later, the five students were walking through the main hall while other students were headed in the direction of the main arena.

"The duel's gonna start soon."

"I wouldn't wanna miss this for anything."

"Miss what? And who's dueling?" Jaden asked.

"I don't know, why don't we go check it out?" Syrus proposed.

"Yes let's, it sounds like a big one." When they arrived into the arena, they were surprised to see Jeremy standing on the platform. But even more surprising, was the fact that on the other end was Seto Kaiba himself. "Whoa! That's Kaiba!" Jaden exclaimed. "What's he doing here?"

Christine waved them over to where she was sitting. "Hi Christine," Alexis greeted her. "What's your father doing here?"

Jaden and Syrus' eyes bugged out. "Seto Kaiba's your father?"

"Yes. Kaiba Corp and the Schroeder Corp have an agreement that they want to settle with a duel. My dad wanted me to take part in it, but I volunteered Jeremy for the job. So he wanted to test him out."

"This is way cool!" Jaden exclaimed. "So who're you rooting for?"

"To be honest, I know Jeremy's got talent and all, but it's just… my dad's really, really good."

"I guess we're about to see how well Jeremy stacks up against him."

"Attention everyone," Crowler spoke into a microphone. "Now, our academy's owner has decided to duel one of our own students, Jeremy Wheeler. So let's get it started."

"Hope you're ready kid," Kaiba said.

"You bet I am!"

They both activated their disks and drew their starting hands. "Let's duel!"

Kaiba: 4000

Jeremy: 4000

"I start things off, by playing Six Samurai United. Now each time a six samurai monster is summoned, this get's a bushido counter. So let's welcome The Six Samurai Zanji." Jeremy's red gold armored warrior stood tall before him. (1800) "I'll finish up with one card face-down."

Kaiba smirked as he drew his sixth card.

"I don't like the look on his face," Syrus said.

"Yeah, odds are it isn't something good for Jeremy," Christine added.

"Not a bad start, but here's something better. I play Polymerization. With it, I fuse my three Blue Eyes White Dragons to create, the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon." The three blue and white dragons fused together and formed and an even greater one with a slightly different look and three heads. (4500)

The crowd gasped in astonishment. "Whoa! That's one powerful monster!" Jaden commented.

"No joke!" Syrus said. "And with 4500 attack points, Jeremy's samurai won't stand a chance!"

"Impressed yet? Just wait until you see his attack. Go, Neutron Blast." The three heads shot of a blast of power that fused into one as it sped towards the lone samurai.

"No so fast," Jeremy interrupted. "I reveal my face-down, Mirror Force. Now your dragon's attack goes right back at him." The blast crashed against a glasslike barrier and was reflected towards the mighty dragon.

"I don't think so. I activate De-fusion. And by summoning my original dragons in defense mode, your Mirror Force won't affect them." The gigantic dragon split apart into the three Blue Eyes that crouched down, avoiding the attack. (2500) x3

"That was a close one," Jaden said. "If it weren't for Jeremy's trap, he'd have already lost."

"I play Pot of Greed. Then I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Alright then. With Zanji on the field, I can automatically summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." The gray haired warrior took its place next to the other. (2100) "Then with both of them, I can call out Great Shogun Shien." Jeremy's best monster stood tall with the warriors facing the dragons. (2500) "Then I activate Allied Forces, giving all my guys 600 more attack points." (2500-3100) (2100-2700) (1800-2400) "And even though Zanji has 100 less attack then Blue Eyes' defense, his effect lets him destroy one anyway. Now take em down." The three warriors rushed at the crouching dragons, destroying them with a strike to the neck.

Jeremy: 4000-3900

"Wow! Even if it cost him a hundred points, Jeremy just destroyed Kaiba three Blue Eyes!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Maybe he'll have a better chance then you thought," Alexis said to Christine.

"That's all for now."

"Not quite. Before your turn ends, I'll play my own face-down, Call of the Haunted. Now I get back one of my dragons you just destroyed." One of the majestic dragons rose to full height in front of its owner. (3000)

"Like I said, my dad's really, really good," Christine reminded them. "He knew about Great Shogun Shien's ability and used his trap to bring back Blue Eyes back on Jeremy's turn. Now he'll be able to use another card on his own turn."

"Nice try kid, but how will you handle this? I activate the spell card Burst Stream of Destruction. I can only play it when I have a Blue Eyes White Dragon on the field and as you can see, I do. Now all of your monsters are destroyed." Kaiba's monster gathered energy in its mouth and fired it at Jeremy's field, sweeping it across all his monsters.

"Not cool!" Jeremy said, nervous at seeing his monsters wiped out just like that.

"Luckily for you, Blue Eyes can't attack on the turn Burst Stream of Destruction is used. So I'll end my turn with another face-down."

"This doesn't look good for him," Syrus commented. "I mean, one second he takes out all three dragons and then the next his own monsters are gone."

"Ok, I'm still in this," Jeremy told himself. "I draw two cards thanks to Pot of Greed. Then I summon The Six Samurai Irou." The darker samurai appeared on Jeremy's field. (1700) "And he also get a boost from Allied Forces." (1700-1900)

"He's hardly a match for 3000 attack points," Kaiba said.

"That's why I'm playing this, my Book of Moon. Now I get to flip one of your monsters face-down." The tall dragon was replaced by the image of the back of a card. "Normally Irou's effect would only activate when he's on the field with another six samurai, but I've got a card that let's me work around that. I equip him with The Samurai Standing Alone. Now he can take down any face-down monster he attacks. Go, Shadow Samurai Strike." Jeremy's darker samurai dashed towards the face-down monster.

"I reveal my Magical Trick Mirror. Here's how it works. When you declare an attack, this let's me activate a magic card from your graveyard. And I choose Book of Moon." The incoming warrior stopped in his tracks and disappeared, the back of the cards appearing on Jeremy's field.

"He's seriously good," Alexis said. "I mean, he countered practically every move that Jeremy's made with almost no effort. Not only did he just stop his Blue Eyes from being destroyed, but since Irou was flipped face-down, Jeremy can't use The Samurai Standing alone to save him from destruction."

"Just hang on Jeremy, you'll manage," Jaden cheered. "At least I hope he can."

"I end my turn."

"Very well then, my turn. And I'll start by placing my Blue Eyes in attack mode again." The powerful dragon rose. (3000) "Then I summon Vorse Raider." The familiar wicked fiend appeared beside the towering dragon. (1900) "Now attack his face-down." Irou appeared crouching on one knee, only to be destroyed by the fiend's weapon. "Now Blue Eyes attack with White Lightning." The mighty dragon fired a blast of lighting that hit Jeremy dead on.

Jeremy: 3900-900

The crowd gasped at Jeremy's loss of life-points. "Aww man, he just lost 3000 life-points," Syrus freaked.

"This isn't looking good for him," Alexis commented.

"I hope he keep it together at least," Christine said.

"It's your move. But you'd better make it count."

"No kidding. Ok then… I summon The Six Samurai Yariza in attack mode." A blue armored warrior with a spear attached to his side appeared in front of Jeremy. (1000) "Then I'll send Six Samurai United to the graveyard and since it had four bushido counters, I get to draw that many cards. Like this one, Turn Jump. Now it skips three turns ahead, meaning I can summon another monster. Marauding Captain, in defense mode." The blonde warrior kneeled beside the standing samurai. (400) "And with his effect, I'll summon The Six Samurai Kamon." Jeremy's brown armored samurai stood beside the other. (1500) "Since Allied Forces remains in play, they all get 600 more points." (1000-1600) (1200-1800) (1500-2100) "Kamon, destroy Vorse Raider with Crushing Explosion." The warrior in question threw a stick of dynamite that blew up the opposing fiend.

Kaiba: 4000-3800

"Finally, Jeremy managed to put a dent in Kaiba's life-points," Syrus said.

"That's not all, cause Yariza can attack you directly. Blazing Spear." Yariza jumped high in the air and launched his weapon at his master's opponent, though he didn't even flinch in the least.

Kaiba: 3800-2200

"And that's all that's happening."

"Nice going!" Jaden exclaimed. "He just brought their points a little closer."

"He's a far shot from winning this though," Christine said, though she was still impressed by the accomplishment.

"Well done. Of course, I'd expect the best students here to be able to stand up for themselves."

"Thanks."

"On with the duel. I play Card of Demise. So I draw until I have five cards, but in that many turns, I send my entire hand to the graveyard. Now Blue Eyes, destroy his captain with White Lightning." The kneeling monster was obliterated by the attack. "With him gone, your other monsters lose points." (1600-1400) (2100-1900) "I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn."

"Here goes. Yes! I play Monster Reborn and bring back Great Shogun Shien." The tall red armored warlord rose between the two existing warriors. (2500) "Now him and my samurais' points go up again." (1400-1600) (1900-2100) (2500-3100) "Take down his dragon." Jeremy's ace monster rushed towards its foe.

"I play Negate Attack." The warrior was stopped in his tracks by a transparent barrier.

"Nuts! He almost had im there," Jaden commented.

"I'll swith Yariza and Kamon to defense and end my turn." Both samurais kneeled down. (500) (1000)

"You played well, I'll give you that much. But unfortunately, it wasn't enough."

"That doesn't sound too good for Jeremy," Syrus said.

"No, it doesn't," Christine added.

"First, I reveal the trap Skill Drain. By paying 1000 life-points, all monsters' effects are negated."

Kaiba: 2200-1200

"Now I activate Monster Reborn to bring back my second Blue Eyes White Dragon." The first one's twin appeared again. (3000) "Then I activate Double Spell. By discarding a spell card, I can use one from your graveyard. Such as, Monster Reborn." The third mighty dragon rose besides the others. (3000)

"Three Blue Eyes White Dragons again!?" Jaden exclaimed.

"Finally, I play Polymerization. So once again I fuse my three monsters to create, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon." The three dragons united again into their supreme form. It let out a roar as it appeared. (4500) "Destroy his Shogun and his life-points. Neutron Blast Attack!" The three heads' blasts combined into one. It blew straight through Jeremy's monster and knocked him off his feet.

Jeremy: 900-0

"Jeremy… lost?" Syrus said.

Silence reigned for a moment longer, and then the crowd burst into applause. "You go Jeremy!"

"Nice one dude!"

"You rock!"

"Awesome dueling!"

"That was so cool!"

Jeremy got up to his feet and faced Kaiba. "I can see why my daughter chose you as a friend. I'll see you after classes start up again." With that, he turned around and walked out of the arena, a small smile on his face.

Jeremy's friends came down congradulate him. "Hey guys, that was fun! Did you get all of that?"

"Never took my eyes off of it for a second," Jaden said.

"Nice dueling," Syrus commented.

"I think you made a good impression on him," Christine said.

"Good to know. He's got some way wicked skills. Last time I had this much fun was dueling you," he talked to Christine. She smiled brightly at this, happy that Jeremy was in such a good mood and that her father had gotten along with him.

* * *

I hope you had as much fun reading this as I had writing, because I had loads of fun. I decided to portray Kaiba as not quite as serious as usual (but not quite openly happy either). Please leave me a review if possible, I'd greatly appreciate knowing what you thought of this chapter. Next chapter: It's the week before the holidays. Love and jealousy are in the air.


	16. Jealous Girls and Visiting Parents

Disclaimer: The only part of this I own is my OC characters, the cards I made up and my little plot twists.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Jealous Girls and Visiting Parents**

Winter had come to Academy Island during the week before the holidays. The temperature had dropped and a layer of snow was covering the island from the night before. The students were happy with the fact that they had no classes for the week. In the Slifer Red dorm, more specifically the room with Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley, the four boys in question were just beginning to wake up. Jeremy was the first to get out of bed and look out the window to see the snow. "Hey Jaden, check it out! It snowed last night!"

"Really? Lemme see." Jaden hopped out of bed and looked out the window of their room. "You're right. This is so cool! I can't wait to just go out there and have fun."

"There's also a load of cool stuff that's supposed to be happening in the gym. We should go check it out some time after breakfast. Come on Syrus, Chumley. There's a load of stuff to do out there. Carpe Diem."

Jaden had a look of confusion on his face. "What does that mean?"

"It means seize the moment, or something similar to that. I saw it in a movie once."

Syrus dropped from his bunk and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He put on his glasses and went to look out the window, though he had trouble reaching the window. "Umm guys, a little help here?" Jeremy grabbed Syrus under the arms and lifted him up to a level where he could look outside. "Whoa! It snowed! Yipee! Come on then. What're we waiting for? Hey Chumley, you coming along?"

"Maybe later. Just gimme some time to sleep on it." The biggest of the four rolled over and fell asleep again.

"Oh well. Let's get dressed and shove some food in," Jeremy said.

After having dressed themselves in their usual attire, along with clothing to adapt for the weather outside, Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus made their way to the cafeteria to eat. When they arrived, they found a note on the table from Professor Banner, telling them to look in the kitchen. They each took out a bowl of cereal and filled up on it in a short time. After that, they decided to head outside. Jeremy was wearing a black toque, mitts boots and a dark blue coat. Jaden was dressed similarly, but with a red toque and brown coat. AS for Syrus, he sported red all around. As they were making their way towards the entrance, Jaden happened to see a pair of Obelisk Blue boys about to throw snowballs at them. "Guys, duck!"

He and Jeremy dove out of the way, but Syrus wasn't as lucky, since he took the hit from both of the snowballs. They crouched behind the statues around the entrance pathway. "Jaden, you take the guy on the right, I'll take the one on the left."

"What about me?" Syrus asked.

"You just run towards the entrance, and we'll take care of the rest."

"So I'm the bait?"

"Well... if you look at it that way… yeah, pretty much."

"Aww man." Jaden and Jeremy each formed a good sized snowball in their hands. Syrus readied himself and ran as fast as he could to get inside. Seeing their victim running towards them, the two Obelisk students emerged to throw more snowballs at him. Fortunately for him, Jaden and Jeremy ran out and threw their own projectiles. They flew straight at the unsuspecting blue boys and splashed them straight in their faces.

The three boys made it into the main building without anymore interventions. Jaden and Jeremy high fived each other for their throw. "Nice going Sy," Jeremy said to Syrus. They then continued on their way towards the gym.

The inside of the gymnasium was crowded with students of all three dorms. Paper snowflakes dangled from the ceiling, Christmas trees stood against the walls and even the faculty members were dressed up for the season. Activities were ongoing throughout the place. Ranging from gingerbread figures, crafts, a game made from the Fairy Box and Roulette Spider and all sorts of things. In the spirit of the season, the students all mingled with each other, regardless of dorms and ranking. The three Slifer boys looked around, their winter clothing left behind in the locker room. "Nice!" Jaden exclaimed. "I don't know what to do first!"

"How about that Fairy Box game? That looks fun," Jeremy suggested. They made their way to the game in question, each deciding to take a turn to see who would do the best. Jeremy went first. When the game was started, Scapegoats began to appear from the holes, the goal being to whack them with a mallet. When it finished, a picture of a scapegoat with its tongue stuck out appeared on the back. Jaden then tried himself, but with little more success than his friend. Fortunately for Syrus, the table was low enough for him to reach it with ease. He whacked them scapegoats with a fury, his score rising above Jaden and Jeremy's in a short time. A picture of a scapegoat with bruises and bandages appeared when he was finished. He got a good monster card as prize.

"Not bad huh?"

"Nice one," Jaden commented.

"What he said."

The boys wandered about for some time, playing different games and doing whatever caught their eyes. They played around in the crafts area for a bit and then took notice of a table for making gingerbread houses. They made their way there and saw Professor Banner standing there, dressed in a Santa hat and coat. "Hello children. Enjoying yourselves so far?"

"You bet we are," Jaden answered.

"Would you like to enter into the gingerbread house contest? Just find a partner, write your names down and when ten minutes are up, the team with the best house gets their picture taken. Of course, you get to eat your own house, so everybody wins in the end."

"Sounds cool. Wanna be my partner Sy?" Jaden asked.

"But what about Jeremy? What'll you do?"

As if to answer Syrus' question, Christine walked over to them. "Hey guys, how're you all doing?"

"It's all good," Jeremy answered. "Hey, wanna be with me for the gingerbread house contest?"

"Sure, sounds like fun."

The two teams wrote down their names and were given places at the table with the material for making the confectionary houses. Apart from themselves, there were four other pairs participating. They all began at Banner's signal. Jaden and Syrus attempted to make a skyscraper, while Jeremy and Christine went for a more traditional gingerbread house. After the ten minutes were up, they had built their intended creations. Their hands were sticky from the frosting and candy that had used. Banner looked over all the entries and after a moment, declared that Jeremy and Christine's was the winner. "Woo hoo!" Jeremy cried out.

Banner took out a camera to take a picture of it. They smiled brightly beside their creation. He looked at Jaden and Syrus, but the Elemental Hero duelist had been unable to contain himself in front of the mound of gingerbread, frosting and candy and had already begun to tear into it. Jeremy and Christine tore down their own and ate parts of it, though with a touch more moderation.

They al washed up after that and continued doing activities in the gym. Later on, when Jeremy was getting something to drink for himself and his friends, he was approached by another Obelisk Blue girl. "Hello there," she said in a sweet voice.

The girl in question had brown eyes and black hair held together in a bun on the back of her head. She was slim, Asiatic, wore a thin Santa coat over her Obelisk uniform and a hat to match. "Umm… hi," Jeremy replied, not entirely comfortable with the way she was looking at him.

"Don't you look dashing," she pressed on, speaking in a flirting voice.

"Umm… umm… umm… I guess so," he said hesitantly. "Exactly who are you?"

"Leila, an Obelisk Blue."

"Well, nice to meet you. I'm a Slifer Red Freshman and I go by the name of…"

"Jeremy Wheeler. I know you who you are. I've seen some of your duels. Your victories were as impressive as you."

Jeremy blushed at this. "Well, I did lose my last duel, against Seto Kaiba and his Blue Eyes."

"Aww, and you're modest too. Why don't you come over with me and have fun?"

"Yeah, about that, my friends were kinda waiting for me so… maybe another time."

Christine chose that moment to show up next to the Slifer boy. "Leila, leave him be. He doesn't want to hang out with you. Go chase after someone else."

The other Obelisk Blue girl gave Christine a hostile look. "Why don't you go play over there Christine? Jeremy obviously wants to spend some quality time with me."

"Pff, yeah right," she said while staring down the Asiatic girl. "He wants to come with me back to his others friends and you know it." Jeremy looked uncomfortably at the two Obelisk students, sensing the animosity between them. "Come on Jeremy, let's leave her to pester someone else."

"If you won't let him stay with me, then I'll duel you for him."

"What?" Christine asked.

"That's right. If I win, Jeremy's mine. And if you win, I'll let you have him," Leila said.

"Wait just one moment," Jeremy said. "You're saying that I…"

"Very well then. I accept your challenge!" Christine cut him off.

"Say what!? Christine, I'm not entirely sure I feel comfortable with this whole thing."

"Don't worry about a thing. She won't win. I'll make sure she doesn't."

"We'll just see about that." Leila walked over to a part of the gym set aside for dueling and Christine followed.

Jeremy was approached by Jaden and Syrus. "Hey guys, here are your drinks." He passed them the paper cups with what they'd asked for.

"So, you've got two girls fighting over you eh?" Jaden teased.

"Yeah. And I hope that Christine wins. Cause if she loses, I'll have to go out with the other one." The three boys made their way to the dueling area where a crowd had gathered. The two Obelisk girls put on their disks, and inserted their decks.

"Duel!"

Leila: 4000

Christine: 4000

"I'll go first," Leila said as she drew her sixth card. "I summon Kung-Fu Nyan Nyan in attack mode." A woman with reddish hair arranged into two buns, a pink robe and green ribbons flowing from her hair and around her waist appeared in front of Leila. (1700) "Then I'll play two cards face-down and let you go."

"Fine with me. I summon Midnight Warrior." The warrior decked in a full set of black armor appeared opposite the martial arts woman. (1450) "Then I activate Double Summon to bring out Witch's Apprentice." Christine's broom riding spellcaster took its place next to the black warrior. (550) "And thanks to her special ability, all dark monsters gain 500 attack points." Her female monster threw a pinch of powder in the air that empowered her monsters. (550-1050) (1450-1950) "Midnight Warrior, attack." A black sword appeared in front of the named monster. He seized it in his hands and used it to cut down his adversary.

Leila: 4000-3750

"Go Witch's Apprentice." The blue clad woman shot a bolt of magic at the Asiatic Obelisk girl.

Leila: 3750-2700

"That's all for now."

"Nice on Christine," Jeremy cheered.

Leila frowned at this. 'He should be paying attention to me. But I'll make him notice me one way or another.' "My draw."

"Sorry to interrupt, but when Midnight Warrior's in attack mode during your standby phase, you lose 200 life-points for every dark monster on the field." A dagger shot out from between the marks on her black knight's chestplate and struck Leila's disk.

Leila: 2700-2300

"Like that matters. I summon Troop Dragon." A small green humanoid dragon wearing armor, a shield and holding a spear in its hands appeared opposite the dark monsters. (700) "Then I reveal Micro Ray. With this, your Midnight Warrior loses all his defense points." (1700-0) "That makes him prone to Burst Breath. And by sacrificing my Troop Dragon, both your monsters are history." The armored dragon exploded in a shower of energy that swept across Christine's field. "And when my little dragon goes to the grave, I get another from my deck." A second humanoid dragon appeared. (700) "Now attack her directly." It dashed forward, slamming the butt of its spear into Christine's stomach.

Christine: 4000-3300

"Then I activate Mystic Wok, and sacrifice my second dragon to regain 800 life-points." The dragon disappeared as her life-points went up.

Leila: 2300-3100

"And of course, my third one comes forth to take his place." The final green dragon knelt down in front of Leila. (800) "Then I'll throw this face down and end my turn."

"Alright then. I summon Pitch Black Warwolf in attack mode." A humanoid wolf holding a curved sword rose on Christine's field. (1600) "Cut her dragon down to size." It rushed forward and swung its blade at the kneeling monster. Then I'll also end my turn with a face-down."

"I activate Call of the Haunted to bring back a Troop Dragon." One of the three previous creatures rose from the grave. (700) "Then I sacrifice it to summon strong wind dragon." The smaller dragon was replaced by another. This one was blue green, muscled, had a long tail and had wings that stretched out widely. (2400) "And when he's summoned by sacrificing a dragon, he gains attack equal to half that of the tribute." (2400-2750) "Destroy her Warwolf." The mighty dragon flapped its wings, creating a gust of wind that blew away the wolf like monster.

Christine: 3300-2150

"One face-down and that's it. Don't worry my little pumpkin, it'll all be over soon," she spoke to Jeremy.

He face vaulted at this. "Come on Christine, you can do this," he said, nervous at the idea of going out with Leila.

"I know. Now check this out. I activate Monster Reincarnation. So I'll toss out one card and take back Witch's Apprentice. Then I play my own Call of the Haunted and bring back the monster I just sent to the graveyard. Summoned Skull." A fiend monster with blue vampire like wings and its flesh inside its gray bones rose in front of Christine. (2500) "Then I'll re-summon Witch's Apprentice." The broom riding blue woman hovered next to her other creature. (550) "And like last time, her ability increases all dark monsters' attack points by 500." (550-1050) (2500-3000) "Summoned skull, destroy her dragon with Lighting Strike." Her powerful fiend shot a blast of lighting that made short work of the opposing monster.

Leila: 3100-2850

"I reveal my trap, Option Hunter. Now I gain life-points equal to the original attack points of the monster you destroyed."

Leila: 2850-5250

"I've still got my other monster." Witch's Apprentice zapped Leila with another bolt of magic.

Leila: 5250-4200

"I end my turn."

"Nice moves," Syrus cheered.

"Way to go Christine," Jaden added.

"That's showing her who's boss," Jeremy said.

Leila had a deadly serious look on her face as she stared down Christine. "Ok, play time's over. I activate Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until we have six cards. Then I play the Warrior Returning Alive to add Kun-Fu Nyan Nyan to my hand. Next I play the spell Luminous Cloud. By sacrificing Kung-Fu Nyan Nyan and Master Kyonshee from my hand or field, I get to summon Dragon Lady." A female warrior appeared on Leila's field. She wore brown armor on her torso which had the ying-yang symbol, as well as her legs and arms. She also wore a golden headpiece shaped like a 'Y' with the bottom part over her nose. In her hands, she held long twin scimitars. (2500)

"Since she's a light attribute monster, my Witch's Apprentice causes her to lose 400 attack points." (2500-2100)

"Your little broomstick woman won't be around for long. Because I play Fissure." A hand rose from the ground and dragged down the spellcaster. "See Jeremy, I've got cards just like yours." Now all monsters regain their original attack points." (2100-2500) (3000-2500)

"But both Summoned Skull and Dragon Lady have the exact same strength," Syrus pointed out.

"Not for long, because I have a card that's about to change things. Lightning Saber. Now my Dragon Lady gains 300 attack points." One of the warrior woman's swords glowed for a moment and extended beyond its previous length. (2500-2800) "Attack her Summoned Skull." Her female monster dashed forward and swiped one of her weapons across the opposing fiend.

Christine: 2150-1850

"And thanks to her new sword, when she destroys a monster in battle, by cutting her points in half, she can attack again." (2800-1400) The warrior swung her sword again, hitting Christine directly.

Christine: 1850-450

"Uh oh, this ain't looking good," Jaden commented.

"She can still get out of it. I'm sure she can," Jeremy said.

"I think that was enough for now. Just one more direct attack and Jeremy will be all mine," Leila said with a dreamy look as he monster regained its original points. (1400-2800)

"Not gonna happen Leila. First I play Pot of Greed, to draw two cards. Then I summon Sangan in defense mode." A small, brown furry monster with three yellow eyes and two green arms and legs with claws appeared crouching on Christine's field. (600) "And I'll end my turn with one card face-down."

"All done huh? Fine by me. Dragon lady, destroy her pathetic furry creature." Leila's female warrior drew back her swords and dashed at Sangan, cutting it down with her swords.

"You just activated Sangan's effect," Christine declared. "When he goes from the field to the graveyard, I can take a monster from my deck with up to 1500 attack points and add it right to my hand."

"Too bad you won't have a chance to play it. Because in case you forgot, thanks to Lightning Saber, I can cut Dragon Lady's attack points in half and have her attack again." (2800-1400)

"Actually, the monster I picked up was Kuriboh. And by sending him from my hand to the graveyard, I can reduce the damage from your attack to 0." The small furry fiend appeared to take the blow for Christine.

"Whew, that was a close one," Jeremy said.

"You just wait until next turn," Leila complained.

"There's not going to be a next turn. First, I summon Doom Virus Magician." A short man with sickly pale skin and black eyes stood up before Christine. He wore robes that were a mesh of blood red and green, along with a dull gray cloak with the kanji for 'death' on the back, and was holding a wooden staff with a pitch black orb at the tip. (1000)

"What's he going to do?" Leila asked. "Gross me out until I give up?"

"No. But as long as he's on my field, I can activate any 'Virus' trap card from my hand. And I think I'll play the Crush Card Virus. So all I have to do is sacrifice a dark attribute monster with 1000 or less attack points, such as my magician. Then all monsters with 1500 or more attack points on your field, in your hand, and that you draw for the next three turns are automatically destroyed." Christine's magician grinned wickedly, before exploding in a shower of sickly gray sludge which splattered all over Dragon Lady, destroying her after a few seconds of useless struggle.

"Alright, now that's what I'm talking about!" Jeremy cheered for his friend.

"That looked gross, but still cool," Jaden added.

"No, not my Dragon Lady!" Leila cried out, distressed over losing her best monster.

"It gets worse too. Because when my magician is sent to the graveyard for a Virus card, after the effect resolves, I can remove a dark monster from my graveyard and summon him to the field." Christine pocketed her Pitch Black Warwolf before her magician appeared again. (1000) "Next I remove Summoned Skull, Sangan and Kuriboh, so that I can summon Dark Necrofear." A blue skinned woman with metallic gray armor around her torso and right arm, as well as purple armor around her legs and left arm, and holding a broken baby doll materialized on the field. (2200) "And since you're out of monsters, I'll hit you with a double direct attack." Both of Christine's monsters rushed forward and smacked her hard, dropping hier life-points to zero.

Leila: 4200-0

"Wicked dueling Christine!" Jeremy said. "I could've done without the stakes though."

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to get her off your back. You can forget about them if you'd like."

"We can still spend the rest of the day doing stuff together though," Jeremy suggested.

"That sounds sweet." They turned around at the sound of a new voice. It belonged to a woman with striking similarities to Christine. Her eyes were a deep blue, she had pale skin and her long pale blue hair dropped down loosely. She wore a white bluish dress split at the legs and a golden bracelet on her left wrist. "Hello Christine, how are you doing?"

"Mom?" she said, almost surprised. "What're you doing here?"

"Just came over to visit. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Oh, yeah. Jeremy, this is my mother Mariah. Mom, this is my friend Jeremy."

"Just friends?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Both students blushed at this. "Mom!" Christine complained. "Yes, we're friends!"

She smiled brightly at their reaction. Jeremy then felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw another woman standing behind him. She was tall, had long blonde hair, an earring on each ear, wore a white tank top, purple vest and skirt of the same color. "Oh, hi mom," he greeted her. "This is my friend Christine and her mother Mariah. And this is my mother Mai," he introduced them to each other.

"Pleasure to meet you," she said to the blue haired woman.

"Likewise."

"Just curious, are you two…"

"Yes mom! We're friends!" Jeremy interrupted, though not without blushing a little.

She smiled at this. "Just asking, that's all. Aren't you two going to tell us about your adventures so far?"

Jeremy and Christine were relieved to get the subject away from their mothers' embarrassing questions. They talked about the different things that had happened so far. From when they met and their duel, to the elimination tag match and when Jeremy faced off against Seto Kaiba. Some time later, Jaden and Syrus came over to them. Jeremy introduced them and they added their own perspectives of events so far. Eventually though, both mothers said that they should leave. "I've left you a present with your headmaster from your father and I," Mai said.

"Thanks mom."

"But don't you open it before Christmas morning young man."

"Alright, alright. I won't."

"Here's your Christmas gift Christine," Mariah said as she passed her a fancy box. "You can open it now."

She did as suggested and took out a beautiful necklace. It was a bright silver and white, with intricate patterns and designs. "Wow, it's beautiful," Christine marveled. "Thanks mom."

Both mothers smiled brightly. "Until next time." Then they both departed and left the four students to themselves.

"Hey Jeremy, could you help me put on my necklace?" Christine asked.

"Sure." She opened the necklace and passed it to Jeremy. He placed it around her neck and reattached the ends at the back. He then happened to notice Jaden smiling in an oddly mischievous way. "Jaden," he said in a warning tone. "You don't want to say what I think you're about to say." He simply continued smiling but refrained from making any comments.

"Thanks Jeremy," Christine said.

"Hey, no problemo. Come on, there's still loads of stuff to do." At that, they all rejoined the festivities.

* * *

Hope you liked it and review are always welcome. For Christine's mother, the description and name came from The Duelist of Dawn who also let me use his idea of a winter break festival. By the way, Leila was supposed to be like Vivian Wong in the original series. I used some of the same cards and threw in a couple of dragons at Mysteray's suggestion.

**Cards made up by me:**

Doom Virus Magician

Atk/Def: 1000/1000

Lv: 4

Type: Spellcaster

Attr: Dark

Effect: If this card is on your field in face-up attack mode, you can activate any 'Virus' trap card directly from your hand. Once per turn, you can add this card's defense points to its attack points until the end phase of your opponent's next turn (if you activate this effect, you must skip your next battle phase). When this card is sent to the graveyard as a cost for a 'Virus' card, after the effect resolves, you can remove a dark attribute monster from your graveyard to summon this card to the field.

Image: A short man with sickly pale skin, yellow eyes, wearing robes that are red and green, along with a dull gray cloak with the kanji for 'death' on the back. He has a wooden staff in one hand with a pitch black orb at the end.

Next chapter: It's Christmas at Duel Academy.


	17. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Disclaimer: Like Bill Gates doesn't own Apple, I don't own Yugioh GX.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year**

The sun had just begun to rise over Academy Island. Snow still covered the ground, giving the impression of a widespread spotless white blanket. The water surrounding the island moved slower, the waves splashing gently against the shore as if coddling it. Most of the student population had gone home for the holidays, though some of them had elected to stay behind for their own reasons. As for the staff, only Professor Banner remained to look over the students. At the moment, Jeremy, Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were sleeping in their room. Visions of Christmas candy and other things drifted through their heads. Syrus was the first one to wake up this time. He rolled over and glimpsed at the calendar on the wall with the days marked off as they approached Christmas. Even without his glasses, he could still see that it was the 25th of December. "Hey guys! It's Christmas morning!" he cried out excitedly.

"Wassa ya sain?" Jaden asked groggily.

"I'm saying that it's the 25th! Merry Christmas Jay!"

"Same to you Sy. Hey guys, come on and get up. It's Christmas!"

After some shaking, Syrus and Jaden managed to get their friends out of bed. "Merry Christmas guys," Jeremy said. Without saying a word, they all agreed to begin the day by opening their presents. They went to the closet and pulled out a series of boxes that were sorted out amongst themselves. Jeremy got a new video game and a book about different dueling strategies from his parents. Jaden had a Blade Edge action figure and a new horror movie. Syrus got a few toy vehicles like his roid monsters and a dark blue sweater. As for Chumley, he'd received a stuffed Des Koala and a picture book from one of his travels. Among other things they unwrapped, were booster packs and Christmas cards.

By the time they were finished, hunger had caught up with them. "As fun as opening presents is, I've gotta eat," Chumley said.

"Me too," the others agreed.

They got dressed in their usual clothing along with their winter wear. When they arrived in the Slifer meal hall, they found Professor Banner waiting for them. "Hello kids and Merry Christmas to you all," he greeted them in a cheery voice. On one of the tables there was turkey, cranberries, stuffing and other sorts of food that they didn't have often. The four Slifers almost drooled at the sight. "Dig in," Banner told them.

They sat down with the headmaster and helped themselves to the food available. After finishing up, they decided to go outside and fool around in the snow. Syrus and Chumley chose to lie down on their backs to make snow angels, whereas Jaden and Jeremy took on a project that they labeled as 'The Ultimate Snowman'.

The top Slifer students each rolled around a large snowball. They had to build a slant to get the second on top of the first because of its weight. The next parts weren't quite as big so they'd have an easier time stacking them. Syrus and Chumley joined in their enterprise until the snowman was too tall for them to add on. They molded the top piece to resemble a face and added snow to make it look like it had arms at its sides. "Nice work guys," Jeremy said.

"That's a big one alright," Syrus added.

"So what's next?" Jaden asked.

"I know. How about an all out, no holds barred, free for all snow war?" Jeremy suggested.

"Works for me," Jaden said.

Syrus and Chumley looked hesitant at the idea. But before they managed to express their reluctance to participate, a snowball sailed through the air and smacked Jeremy in the head, followed shortly by another that hit Jaden. They all looked in the direction that the projectiles had come from and saw Christine standing a short distance away from them with another snowball at the ready. "Hey guys. Mind if I join in on the fun?" she asked with a smile on her face.

"Of course you can. But you're still going down." The five of them were then engaged in a full fledged battle. At one point, a snowball intended for Chumley missed and hit Banner who had decide to take a peak at what they were doing. "He did it," Jeremy and Jaden each pointed at each other.

The Slifer headmaster looked at them with an amused smile as he wiped the snow off his face. "Why don't you all come in for a nice cup of hot chocolate?" he suggested. "You can come too is you'd like Christine."

"Thank you professor." They were all drenched from playing in the snow. Once inside, they took off their outdoors clothing, hung them about and dried themselves off a little bit with towels. Banner passed them all a cup of steaming hot chocolate that they used to warm up their hands as much as they drank it.

They sat there chatting for a while until Jeremy suggested that they try out his new video game. They attached the game player to a television screen that Banner took out for them and inserted the cartridge. It turned out to be a racing video game that soon had the boys immersed in it. To their surprise, Christine asked to try herself against one of them. Jeremy passed her his controller and she competed against Jaden. Again she surprised them, with winning by a long shot.

"Know what we should do now?" Jeremy asked. "We should go sliding."

"But we don't have any sleds," Syrus pointed out.

"Actually, I could give you my key so you can get what you need from the gym's storage room," Banner offered. "So long as you promise to put everything back in the same condition as before you took it."

"Really? Thanks." Banner gave Christine his key which she put in her coat pocket.

"You guys go on without me," Chumley said. "I think I need a break for a while."

"Suit yourself." The four other students made their way to the academy's main building. With Banner's key they got into the gym's storage room and took out what they wanted. Jaden grabbed a crazy carpet, Syrus a small sled and both Jeremy and Christine took snowboards. After that, they found a slope with a good angle to go down on. They all went straight down, screaming aloud as they raced each other. Syrus went the furthest distance, but his face and torso were almost indistinguishable with all the snow he'd accumulated. Jaden then tried out Jeremy's snowboard, though he wasn't quite a master at it, a fact that was made obvious when he fell flat on his stomach. Jeremy and Christine went down on their boards again, competing against each other.

Eventually they tired out from all their playing outdoors. They returned the equipment to the gym and went back to the Slifer Red dorm. As it had gotten fairly late in the day, Christine gave back Banner his key and went to go to her own dorm. "If you would like to stay here for the night, you can use one of the empty rooms."

"Are you sure Professor?"

"There's no harm in that. But if you'd rather go back to your own dorm, then the choice is yours."

"I guess I just might stick around."

She got set up in one of the rooms besides the Slifers'. The four boys, Christine and Banner had supper in the meal hall and afterwards, the students decided to watch the horror movie that Jaden had received. The headmaster left them alone to and went to his own room. They watched the movie with interest from beginning to end. When they were finished, Syrus and Chumley were shaking in fright, while the others had refrained from doing more than jumping in surprise a little. Having done all that, the boys went back to their room and Christine to the one beside theirs. They all fell asleep soon, happy that the day had been fun filled and looking forward to the next.

* * *

I know this chapter was pretty short comparison, but I just wanted to get it out of the way. Next chapter: An Obelisk Blue student comes crashing into the red dorm looking for help.


	18. Spirits Abound

Disclaimer: I own Yugioh Gx. And if you believe that, then you're way too gullible.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Spirits Abound**

Night time had begun to surround Academy Island. The ground was blanketed by a thin layer of snow and the air was filled by a darkness illuminated a little by the moonlight. An Obelisk Blue boy was running through the forest as fast as he could, as if he was being pursued. "Help! Help!" he cried out.

'I can't believe this is happening,' he thought. 'I can't believe he came alive. And took my friends.' He looked over his shoulder as he ran.

"Please! Someone, help!"

* * *

At the Slifer Red dorm, Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus, Chumley and Christine were hanging out with Professor Banner. "I can still hardly believe almost everyone else is gone for winter break," Jaden said. "The island feels so… empty."

"Kinda like the island in the movie we watched last night, hey?" Jeremy said.

"At least we're all here together," Syrus piped up.

"Yeah, and that means more dueling for us," Jaden pitched in. He and Syrus were currently in the middle of a duel with the shorter boy having a slight advantage.

"And that means more cafeteria food for us," Chumley added.

Banner was sitting in front of a small barbecue grill with a few marshmallows cooking. "You know Chumley, now that you mentioned that, I can't help but wonder why all we're eating right now are marshmallows."

"Because we already ate all the grill cheeses."

"We?" Banner replied with a questioning eyebrow.

They all turned their attention towards the duel as Jaden summoned his Clayman. Pharaoh watched the marshmallows expand and expand. Suddenly, they exploded and sent bits of white goo mostly in his face, causing him to meow loudly. "Hey, it's a marshmallowed cat," Jeremy joked. The others laughed at this, but they were interrupted by the sounds of something crashing through the door.

Or rather, someone. A boy from the Obelisk Blue dorm lay down on the floor amongst shattered pieces of wood and glass. Everyone stopped what they were doing and diverted their attention towards him. The boy in question had brown hair that dropped down to shoulder level and wore glasses. Jeremy knelt down and helped him stand. "You okay?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Jaden commented.

The boy raised his head, his face painted with a fearful expression. "I… I have," he muttered.

"Are you sure about this?" Christine asked.

"Yes! It's Jinzo!" he cried out. "The duel monster card!"

Jaden and Jeremy looked at each other with uncertainty. "Umm, Professor Banner, I think you might want to call the school nurse."

"I know you," Banner said as he looked at him closer. "You're Torrey. You were in my Para-Dueling class."

Torrey looked at the teacher. "That's right." He dropped to his knees, grabbed Banner's legs and his voice took on a pleading tone. "The lecture you gave about duel spirits being real… it's all true. We even brought one to life!"

"Forget about the nurse, he needs the school psychologist. And fast," Jaden said.

Banner knelt down to his level and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down Torrey. Tell us everything that happened, from the very beginning."

"Yes professor. A while back, I talked to some of my friends about your class and that under certain conditions duel spirits could come to life. Well, after that we started trying to create those conditions… even though we knew the academy forbids it. We tried it out more than once, but nothing special ever happened… until a few days ago. It might have been because we were using our bed sheets as cloaks, or that we took Dr. Crowler's bath candles. Whatever the reason, that time something was different."

He took a second to catch his breath and continued. "We all put our hands on a Ouija board, said the chant… and it happened. 'From vapor to flesh, from wind to aurore come Jinzo from the land of yore'. Then the board spelled out, 'Give me three and I shall be free'."

"Three what?" Jaden asked.

"We thought that it meant three cards."

"Oh dear me, no," Banner said. "Jinzo could not possibly be satisfied with mere cards. This is just terrible."

"So what did the three mean then?" Syrus wondered up.

He looked at the short Slifer with a grim expression as he answered. "It meant people."

"People!"

"Yes and unfortunately we had agreed… before we knew any better."

"So… your friends?"

"They're both gone. I've looked everywhere, but it's like they just vanished into thin air. First it was one, then the other and I know it's going to be me next!"

Everyone looked at each other. Surprise marred their faces at hearing this startling news. "Are you sure they didn't just go home for the holidays Torrey?" Christine asked.

"I'd hoped that they had, but I called their parents and they didn't know where they were either. I doubt they could've made it off the island anyway. After all, I tried to leave myself, but couldn't. When I got to the ferry, he was already there, waiting for me. I've been hiding from him since then, but he's going to catch up with me sooner or later."

"Well, we seem to be safe here." No sooner than Jaden had said this, that the lights went off.

"What was that?" Syrus asked, panicked a little.

"Easy Syrus, it was probably just a fuse," Banner suggested.

"Or maybe a bulb," Chumley added.

"Or maybe, it was me." They all turned in the direction of the new voice and saw a man in a black trench coat holding an unconscious Torrey in one arm. He wore a wide black hat, but even with all that, they could guess that it was Jinzo.

"Let im go," Jaden said defiantly.

"Sorry, but we have a deal," and then he ran off.

"Oh no you don't!" They all took off running after him. They chased after the kidnapper until Jaden lost sight of him. "Okay, where'd he go?"

"Beats me," Jeremy said.

"Don't tell me I ran all that way for nothing," Chumley moaned.

"Pharaoh? What's wrong?" Banner said as he saw his cat with its back raised and growling at a direction.

"Pharaoh must be able to sense Jinzo," Syrus realized. The headmaster's pet led the students and his master through the forest until they reached a power station. "What is this place?"

"This must be the central power station for the entire island," Banner explained. "But I don't see any sign of Jinzo around here."

"Well I see Torrey." The Obelisk student in question was lying down on the other side of the station. "You're safe." As Jaden approached him, the complex came to life with electricity.

A brief moment later, and they could all see what looked like a blurry hologram of Jinzo. "None of you are safe."

"What's going on Professor," Syrus asked. "How is it that he's appearing before us?"

"It's the electricity. He's using the current to power himself up."

"Let Torrey go right now!" Jeremy said.

"If you need a third sacrifice, then take me instead," Jaden jumped in.

"You do seem to posses more vitality than this pathetic human. Hmm… I'lll take you up on your offer."

"Fine, but on one condition only. You and I duel. If you win, you'll get my life energy, but I win and you give back the other two you already took."

"A duel? Very well then. I should be able to be sustained to this electrical limbo long enough for a match. First I'll defeat you, then I'll consume you."

Electricity sparkled around them, separating Jaden from the others. "Good luck man," Jeremy encouraged him.

"Don't you worry guys, I'll beat this creepy figure in no time. Now get your game on Jinzo." Jaden started his disk and drew his starting hand. For Jinzo, holographic images of the back of his cards appeared in front of him.

Jaden: 4000

Jinzo: 4000

"First, I summon Malice Doll of Demise in attack mode." A creepy wooden doll with pointy teeth and holding an axe with a glowing blade in its hands appeared on the field. (1600)

"That's why I never played with dolls," Christine said, mildly sickened by the monster.

"Next I'll activate the spell card Ectoplasmer. This fiendish spell forces each played to sacrifice one monster on their field at the end of their turn. Then, half that monster's attack points are dealt to the opponent as damage." A ghostly spirit rose from the doll's body and flew towards Jaden, whirling around him as it caused damage.

Jaden : 4000-3200

"Oh no, Jaden's already falling behind," Syrus said. "And his turn hasn't even started yet."

"It's worse than that. Because Malice Doll of Demise was sent to the graveyard by the effect of a continuous spell, it'll come back during Jinzo's turn," Christine pointed out.

"Alright spooky, here I come." Jaden looked over at his hand, before deciding on his options. "I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode." The winged green hero rose in front of the Slifer student. (1000) "Next, I'm throwing down four face-downs and playing a continuous spell of my own, Mirage of Nightmare. And when your turn comes around, I get to draw until I have four cards, but during mine, I have to ditch as many as I drew. But before that happens, Avian attack with Windstorm Strike." The hero of air flew towards the spirit and landed a punch that passed through it.

Jinzo: 4000-3000

"But that's not all. Because I'm using your Ectoplasmer to sacrifice Avian and deal 500 damage to your life-points." Avian's spirit rose from his body and punched Jinzo before fading away.

Jinzo: 3000-2500

"That's the spirit!" Syrus cheered. "I mean, that's how you beat a spirit! I mean, you know what I mean."

"Nice going Jay," Jeremy encouraged.

"Now we got a game going!"

"A game you'll soon lose," Jinzo replied to his opponent. "After all, since Malice Doll of Demise was sent to the grave due to Extoplasmer's effect, it automatically resurrects." The evil looking doll returned to the field. (1600)

"Speaking of spells, Mirage of Nightmare now activates, meaning I get to draw four cards. Then I play Emergency Provisions. And by giving up Mirage, I gain 1000 life-points."

Jaden: 3200-4200

"Wicked move!" Chumley applauded his friend. "I mean, not only did he get more points, but now he doesn't have to get rid of any cards."

"I summon Emissary of the Afterlife in attack mode." A reaper with a brown cloak and a glowing scythe appeared beside the creepy doll. (1600)

"On second thought, maybe it would've been a better idea to play a little defense."

"And since you have no monsters, I can attack you directly. Sickle Slasher." The newest monster dashed at Jaden as it pulled back its scythe.

"Not so fast. I play A Hero Emerges. Now you have to pick a card from my hand, and if it's a monster, I can summon it."

"Far right." Electricity crackled around the card Jinzo pointed at.

"Nice pick. For me at least. Say hello to Elemental Hero Sparkman." The golden armored hero appeared in front of Jaden. (1600) It was just in time to receive the incoming monster's weapon, but not before delivering a punch to his enemy.

"Fool! When Emissary is sent to the grave, we both get to add a normal monster from our decks to our hands as long as it's a level three or below. And I choose United Resistance."

"And I'll take good old Burstinatrix."

"It doesn't matter. Because once again you have no monsters to defend yourself with. Malice Doll, go, Cleaver Heaver." The only monster hurled its axe at Jaden. It spun in the aire before hitting his duel disk.

Jaden: 4200-2600

"I'll place this card face-down and activate Ectoplasmer." The Doll's spirit circled around Jaden once more.

Jaden: 2600-1800

"Having this duel was an excellent idea. It's much better to enjoy something slowly rather than taking it all at once."

"Jaden, your legs!" Syrus said in surprise. "You're fading!"

"Not cool!" Jeremy and Christine shared a look, each remembering his duel against the shadow duelist and what happened when he'd lose life-points.

"What's going on?"

"I'm collecting on our deal," Jinzo explained to his to the dueling Slifer. "Since you've just lost over half your life-points, I'm taking half your life-force. And I must say, it feels good."

"You're not gonna get me that easy. I'll duel until it ends. I play Polymerization, to fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Burstinatrix to create, The Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster in attack mode." The two heroes swirled around each other and finished as the armored feminine monster. (2000) "And now, Rampart Blaster, attack with Rampart Barrage." The named monster shot a series of rockets from her right arm that landed around the spirit.

Jinzo: 2500-500

"Nice!" Christine said. "Now he can use Ectoplasmer's effect to wipe out the rest of Jinzo's life-points."

"Now quite, because I'm getting rid of it with Mystical Space Typhoon." A whirlwind blew away the damaging spell card.

"Fine then, I'll just go ahead and end my turn with a face-down."

"My draw." Another card appeared in front of the spirit. "And I couldn't have asked for a better one. With this card, my resurrection will be all but complete."

"What're you talking about?"

"You'll see. First, Malice Doll returns to the field." The evil looking doll returned from the graveyard for the second time. (1600) "And now I sacrifice it so I can summon…" The spirit let out an evil laugh as the card in front of it spun about. "… myself, Jinzo." The station's electricity crackled as Jinzo disappeared. It then struck the named card and the monster in question took its place. (2400)

"Oh come on. I mean, you can't draw yourself."

"I just did. And know, I can attack you personally. Cyber Energy Shock." A ball of energy gathered in his palm which he short out at the Rampart Blaster.

Jaden: 1800-1400

"Aww man, Rampart Blaster's gone. And with Jinzo really on the field, Jaden won't be able to use his traps," Syrus moaned.

"I summon Wroughtweiler in defense mode." A metal dog with a visor crouched down on Jaden's field. (1200) "And there's a reason he's called man's best friend. Cause if he's destroyed in battle, I get back Polymerization and one elemental hero from the graveyard."

"Ready for more pain mortal? I summon United Resistance in attack mode." A band of three men wearing ragged clothing and wielding short bows appeared beside the spirit monster. (1000)

'Hereo it comes,' Jaden thought to himself.

"And then I'll attack your mechanical dog with Cyber Energy Shock." The ball of energy that Jinzo shot out from his palm vaporized Jaden's Wroughtweiler.

"Now Polymerization and Clayman come back to my hand."

"But not the field. Which means I can attack you directly. Go, United Resistance." The three armed men short arrows at Jaden from their bows.

Jaden: 1400-400

"Finally, I equip myself with Amplifer. With this, my own ability doesn't affect my trap cards." A small metal cap with little electronical spikes materialized on Jinzo's head. "And I'm sure you can guess what this face-down might be. Your demise is at hand."

"I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode." Jaden's blue water hero stood straight in front of him. (800) "And I'll boost his power with Bubble Blaster. This spell gives him 800 extra attack points." Bubbleman aimed his newfound bazooka like weapon at Jinzo's field. (800-1600) "Now attack, with Bombarding Bubble Barrage." The hero in question shot a large bubble at the three armed men on the opposing field that burst on contact.

"I activate Spirit Barrier. And as long as this card's in play and I have one monster on the field, I don't take any damage from battle. And in case you've forgotten already, there is, me."

"You're still just a phantom to me. I'll play one card face-down and end my turn."

"That was pathetic. Almost as pathetic as I'm going to make your Bubbleman look." The enemy spirit monster shot a blast of energy at Jaden's hero, though he put his blaster in front of himself to block.

"Guess I didn't mention it before, but when Bubbleman is equipped with Bubble Blaster, he doesn't burst, his weapon does."

"One turn, that's all it buys you," he said as another face-down card appeared in front of him.

"And hopefully, that's all I'll need. I Play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Winged Kuriboh appeared besides Jaden's head as he took his two cards. Jeremy's Shien's Footsoldier appeared on his shoulder at the same time. 'I'm with you pal, he is one ugly dude,' he said to the furry spirit.

'_Your friend's in a bit of a predicament,_' the monkey spirit pointed out. 'F_ighting a spirit like that one can be dangerous_.'

'He'll win. I'm sure he will,' Jeremy replied.

"Spirits?" Jinzo looked almost puzzled.

"They're friends first and spirits second. Which is probably why they don't have to snack on human souls to chill out here in the land of the living."

"That's telling im Jay," Jeremy said.

"Now back to business. I summon Elemental Hero Clayman." The stone warrior rose beside his water counterpart. (800) "And I'm gonna equip him with the spell Claywrap." Clayman was surrounded by a coating of transparent mud. "But it isn't over just yet. Next I'm gonna play Polymerization to fuse him with Bubbleman. Now say hello to Elemental Hero Mudballman." The larger fusion hero emerged opposite the spirit monster. (1900) "And since Claywrap was sent to the graveyard, I can use it to destroy that Amplifier." Jinzo's metal cap shattered.

"Good move. Now that Amplifier's gone, so is Jinzo," Christine pointed out.

"Lishus!"

"Way to play Jay."

"You go man!"

Jinzo cried out as he exploded in a cloud of smoke. "No! I'm too close, I won't let it end here! I refuse!"

Torrey shakily stood up, his eyes glowing red. "Torrey, are you okay?" Jaden asked.

"I'm not Torrey, I'm Jinzo. And I raise myself from the dead with Call of the Haunted."

"No you don't! I activate the trap card Solemn Judgement. It may cost me half my life-points, but its all good, cause it negates and destroy the card you were about to play."

Jaden: 400-200

"Noooo!"

"Now Mudballman, finish him. Fire Shockwave." The large hero jumped in the air and thrust his hands at the possessed Obelisk student, sending out a red waves at him.

Jinzo: 500-0

A bright white light emerged from the attack, illuminating the station and causing all the students and Banner to lose consciousness.

* * *

When they opened their eyes, they were still at the power station, but the morning sun had risen. "Did we miss out on breakfast?" Syrus asked. Chumley's stomach growled a bit as if to answer.

"I think we might have," Jeremy said.

They took note of the fact that Torrey was back to the same condition that he was before, along with the two other Obelisk boys. "They're all back, safe and sound," Banner said relieved.

"You think they'll remember what happened?" Syrus asked.

'It'd probably be better if they didn't,' Jaden thought to himself. 'I won't forget though… Duel spirits are real, but some of them are dangerous too.' "Why don't we just head back and let them sleep it off? I'm sure their spirits are weary." Only Jaden and Jeremy laughed at the joke. "Oh come on, that was a good one."

"You know what'd be good? A grilled marshmallow sandwich," Chumley suggested.

"You mean we haven't run out already?" Syrus piped up.

"I'm not running anywhere!" The others all laughed at Chumley's words.

* * *

Even though this chapter was pretty much the same as the show, I can assure you that the next one will be better. If you don't mind leaving a review anyway, that'd be appreciated. Next chapter: The holidays are over and it's time for the representatives of Kaiba Corp and Schroeder Corp to face off.


	19. Mythology Come to Life

Disclaimer: I don't feel like saying this time. So just look at any of the previous chapters. They'll tell you all you need to know.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Mythology Come to Life**

Winter vacations were officially over. The snow had all melted, the students and faculty were back and classes were going to start soon. Jeremy was walking around in the hallways of the academy's main building along with Jaden, Syrus and Chumley. "Well, the holidays have pretty much come and gone," he remarked.

"Yeah, it was fun though. Not so much the part with Jinzo, but the rest was good," Jaden said.

"Too bad the snow's all melted," Syrus commented.

"Ah well, at least we had a good time." The three boys walked about until meeting up with Christine and Alexis. "Hey girls, how's life for you?"

"We're good," the blond girl answered. "Are you ready for your big up and coming duel?"

"You bet I am. I even got a couple of new cards that I put in my deck to freshen it up."

Suddenly an announcement came through the loudspeakers. "**Attention! Jeremy Wheeler, please report to Chancellor Sheppard's office. Jeremy, to the chancellor's office.**"

"That must mean my father's arrived already," Christine said.

"Well, let's go see him then." The five students walked over to Sheppard's office and when they arrived, they saw Seto Kaiba, Chancellor Sheppard, as well as a man with pinkish hair and wearing a suit of the same general color. Beside him was a boy about Jeremy's age, with bright red hair and a suit of the same color, except that it was a darker shade.

"Hello Jeremy," Sheppard addressed him. "You've already met Mr. Kaiba." The head of Kaiba Corp gave Jeremy a brief nod. "This is Ziegfried Schroeder, CEO of Schroeder Corp and his son Wolfgang."

"Nice to meet you," Jeremy said as he shook their hands.

"So, this is who you've chosen as a representative," Ziegfried noted to Kaiba. "Well, we shall see if you made the right choice soon enough."

"The match won't take place until a bit. So you can wander about until we call you up," Sheppard said.

"Fine with me. Later yall." Jeremy and his friends turned around and left the office. "So, anything you can tell me about Wolfgang?" Jeremy asked Christine.

"Nothing really. I've never seen him duel so I'm afraid I can't really help you with that. Although, if he uses a deck anything like his father's, then you'd better be able to stall for time."

"Good to know."

They all hung out for a while, until they were approached by a blond man that looked similar to Jeremy. He wore a short blue jacket, white t-shirt, dark blue jeans and his hair was styled in the same manner as Jeremy's. "Hey dad," the Slifer in question greeted him.

"Hi Jeremy." They both grasped their hands and gave each other a pat on the back. "I heard about this big match of yours and since I was free, I though I should come over."

"Cool. Guys, this is my dad Joey. Dad, this is Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Alexis and Christine." The other students greeted him in their own manner.

"You know we actually saw a dueling m-" Syrus was interupted by Jeremy elbowing him in the stomach. He'd been told of his friends encounter with the monkey named Wheeler and knew his father might not react well upon hearing his named associated with a monkey.

"Nothing important. Right Sy?"

"Umm yeah. Forget I said anything."

"Well, now we know for sure which parent Jeremy took after," Jaden commented.

"You know what they say, 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree'," Joey said.

The students and Joey talked to each other for a bit, before Jeremy received a message on his PDA telling him to get to the duelling arena. "Looks like it's time to duel." They made their way to the arena where everyone was gathered, as well as Ziegfried and Kaiba. Wolfgang stood on the end of the platform opposite Jeremy. "Cheer me on."

"We will, don't worry about that." His friends and father took seats amongst the audience.

Bastion joined them just after. "Hey Bastion," Jaden greeted him.

"Hello Jaden. You're Joey Wheeler, Jeremy's father, right?"

"Yup, that's me alright."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Bastion Misawa."

"Nice to meet you too."

Jeremy made his way to the edge of the platform where he faced Wolfgang. Crowler walked up to the middle and spoke into a microphone. "The following match is between Wolfgang Schroeder who is representing the Schroeder Corporation and Jeremy Wheeler who will be duelling for the Kaiba Corporation." Some of people in the audience cheered for Jeremy. "Duelists, shuffle your opponent's decks."

The two teenagers walked to the center of the arena and handed each other their duel decks. "So, you're Joey Wheeler's son," Wolfgang said.

"That's right. And you're the son of Ziegfried Schroeder."

"Correct. I hope that you can put up a good fight."

"There's no need to ask, cause that's exactly what you're gonna get."

"We'll see about that." They passed each other their respective decks back. "But who shall go first. How about we flip a coin?" Wolfgang took a coin out of a pocket and flipped it in the air, catching it on the back of his hand. "I say heads." He took away his hand and it turned out to be so. "But I think I'll let you being the duel."

"Fine with me."

"Good luck then."

"You may begin anytime now," Crowler hopped off the platform and went to his seat.

The opponents walked to their own ends of the platform, activated their disks and drew their starting hand. "Duel!"

Jeremy: 4000

Wolfgang: 4000

"I summon Chamberlain of the Six Samurai in defense mode." The metal limbed warrior settled in an Indian style sitting position. (2000) "And I'll also summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai in attack mode." The old battle hardened warrior stood tall next to the defending monster. (2100)

"Good move," Bastion commented. "He got a strong offense and defense at the same time."

"One face-down and that's all."

"We'll just have to see what Wolfgang throws down," Jaden said.

"A pity this duel had to be so short," the red haired boy said as he drew his sixth card.

Jeremy had a puzzled look on his face at this. "What're you talking about?"

"Observe, as I play Ride of the Valkyries. This allows me summon every valkyrie I happen to hold in my hand. And unfortunately for you, I have Valkyrie Erste and two Valkyrie Zwei." Three women appeared riding white horses. Both those on the left and right had shoulder length pinkish hair and the one's in the middle was a light purple color. They all wore armor about them, helmets with wings and held a sword in one hand. (1600) x3

The head of Kaiba Corp looked at his rival. "So, he's using the same deck as you, is he?"

"No, not quite. It may be similar, but there are some differences. Although I doubt that will matter now."

"For the fun part, when Valkyrie Zwei is summoned in any way, one of your monsters is automatically destroyed. And since I have two, your monsters are history." The horses on the right and left jumped forward and their riders brought down their swords on the two warriors. "With the ability of Valkyrie Erste, once per turn she can remove one of your monsters from play and her attacks points become those of the monster removed." (1600-2100) "Now Valkyrie Erste, attack him directly." Jeremy stood ready as the center valkyrie galloped at him.

"I activate Negate Attack." The attacking monster was pushed back before reaching Jeremy.

"Whew! That was a close one," Jaden commented.

"No kidding," Joey added. "But at least now those pony sisters go back to Wolfgang's deck since they were summoned with Ride of the Valkyries."

Wolfgang had a self assured smile despite his move having been stopped. "Normally when summoned by the Ride of the Valkyries, my frauline friends would go back into my deck, but not after I play this. Mischief of the Time Goddess. This skips your turn, so not only do my valkyries remain on the field, but they get to attack again. And now you have nothing left to protect yourself against my triple threat." A gasp rose from the audience as the three horse riders galloped towards Jeremy again.

"That's what you think buddy, but by discarding Shadow of the Six Samurai, I can reduce all my damage to zero. So your little pony girls are gonna have to wait until next time." A shadow shaped like that of a samurai appeared in front of the Slifer duelist, preventing the enemy monsters from going any further.

Wolfgang looked mildly impressed. "Well played. I think I'll simply end my turn."

"Fine by me. I play Pot of Greed. Then I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode." Jeremy's elven swordsman stood tall in front of him. (1400) "Now I'll throw this face-down and activate Mage Power. With itself and my other card, it gives my guardian 1000 extra attack and defense points." (1400-2400/1200-2200) "Take out his Valkyrie Erste with Silver Blade Strike. The powered warrior jumped high in the air and brought his sword down on the middle horse rider.

Wolfgang: 4000-3200

"That's all for now."

Jeremy's friends cheered for him "Way to go!"

"Nice move!"

"That was quite impressive!"

"Looks aren't the only thing he got from his dad," Joey said.

Ziegfried had a surprised expression on his face, while Kaiba's was rather confident. "I dueled him myself to make sure he was up to it when my daughter suggested him. I'd hardly have let him take her place if he was a kid with little talent."

"Just watch Herr Kaiba. My son will pull through."

"I must say, you're better than I had expected."

"Thanks, I guess."

"Let's continue shall we? I activate Nibelung's treasure. This allows me to take Nibelung's Ring from my deck, put it on your side of the field and equip it to one of your monsters." A silvery ring with runes on it appeared on one of the fingers of Jeremy's guardian and stayed on even when he tried to pull it off, even if its is presence powered him up a little. (2400-2900)

"What's the deal with that?" Jeremy asked.

"You'll see in time. But first, I get to draw five cards thanks to my ring's effect." Wolfgang smiled to himself as he looked over his hand. "Now I call upon the Goddesses who control the past present and future. Goddess Skuld's Oracle, Goddess Verdandi's Guidance and Goddess Urd's Verdict." Three women wearing long dresses and holding staves appeared between Wolfgang and the two remaining valkyries. One had dark blue hair split into two braids, the second had long pinkish hair and wore blue and the third's was short and blond.

"Don't tell me he just played the three divas," Joey said.

"What are those anyway?" Jaden asked.

"I'll tell you what, they're bad news in dresses."

"Now for the effect of Goddess Skuld. Once per turn, I can look at the top three card of your deck and place them in any which order I please." Jeremy showed him the required cards, revealing The Six Samurai Irou, The Six Samurai Zanji and Monster Reborn. "Place the middle card on the top, then the first, then the last." Jeremy did as requested. "Now Verdandi allows me to guess if your top card is a monster, spell or trap card. If I guess correctly, you have to play it face-down. Let me see... your top card's a monster."

"Isn't that surprising?" Jeremy commented as he placed his samurai face-down.

"Finally, the Goddess Urd permits me to guess the identity of one of your face-down cards. And if I'm right, it's automatically removed from play."

"Say what!"

"I'll guess, The Six Samurai Zanji." The samurai's spirit appeared from the card and rose until disappearing. "Now I'll sacrifice one Valkyrie Zwei to summon Fortune Chariot." One of the riders faded away and was replaced by an empty golden chariot pulled by a pair of horses. (0) "Thanks to its effect, I can equip it to my remaining Valkyrie." Wolfgang's other monster jumped off her horse and took the chariot's reigns. "And by cutting her attack points in half, she can attack you directly." (1600-800) The chariot flew over Jeremy's guardian and the monster guiding it swung her sword at Jeremy.

Jeremy: 4000-3200

"I end my turn." (800-1600)

"I told you he'd turn this around," Ziegfried reminded Kaiba. He said nothing in response.

"The score's tied and both of them seem to be evenly matched," Bastion remarked.

"Unfortunately, there's still that ring's effect, plus Wolfgang can continue using his goddesses' effects as long as they're out on the field, and that's really not good. Believe me, I speak from experience."

"My draw then."

"Did you forget about my ring? You get to draw two cards instead of one."

"Any reason for that?"

"Well, apart from preventing the monster equipped from attacking, if you draw any monsters, it forces you to discard one of them."

"Fine then, I reveal my face-down Return of the Six Samurai. This let's me bring back a six samurai monster from the graveyard. Such as the one your ring just sent there. The Six Samurai Irou." Jeremy's dark samurai rose from the grave. (1700) "Then I'll summon The Six Samurai Kamon." The brown armored warrior stood next to his ally. (1500) "Thanks to his effect, by giving up his attack, I can destroy one of your face-up spell or trap cards each turn. And since your Fortune Chariot's treated as a spell card when it's equipped to your valkyrie, I'm gonna send it packing." Kamon hurled a stick of dynamite at the valkyries chariot. It exploded and the monster riding it jumped off and regained her horse. "Now Irou, attack Valkyrie Zweite with Shadow Samurai Strike." The named warrior dashed forward and sliced his sword across his enemy's torso.

Wolfgang: 3200-3100

"I'll throw this face-down and with my turn over, Irou goes back to the graveyard."

"I invoke the power of my three goddesses again." Jeremy showed him Shien's Footsoldier, Transmigration Prophecy and Fiber Jar. "Place them back in the same order. Now I'll say your top card's a monster and that's it's Shien's Footsoldier." Jeremy spirit partner faded away as he pocketed the card.

'Sorry about this buddy.'

"I send Hecatrice to the graveyard to add Valhalla Hall of the Fallen to my hand, and now I can play it." Stone pillars and a great hall with a majestic throne appeared behind Wolfgang. "When there are no monsters on my field, this allows me to summon any fairy I hold in my hand. Such as... Valkyrie Brunhilda." Another female horse rider descended from above. This one with the same kind of armor, but with long deep blue hair and seemingly more regal. (1800) "And thanks to her special ability, she gains 300 attack points for every warrior and dragon type monster you control." (1800-2400) "Destroy his samurai." The fairy rider galloped forward and cut through the opposing samurai with a single swing of her sword.

Jeremy: 3200-2300

"She may lose 300 points," (2400-2100) "but that doesn't really matter."

"I'll go then." Jeremy put his Fiber Jar in the grave. "I place this face-down and that's all."

"Goddess Skuld, show me his top three cards." Jeremy held up Spirit of the Six Samurai, The Six Samurai Yariza and Negate Attack. "Place them back in the same order."

"Just to keep you guessing, I'll activate the face-down I just played. Transmigration Prophecy. So I can return two cards from either graveyard to the owner's deck. Like my Shadow of the Six Samurai and Irou."

"That is all for now."

"At least Wolfgang can't go around or through Jeremy's guardian," Alexis said.

"But how long will that last?"

"Don't worry Syrus, Jeremy will take care of it soon enough," Jaden said.

"Taking out that valkyrie's gonna be harder than the rest of em," Joey pointed out.

Jeremy discarded one of the two cards he drew. "I reveal my other face-down, Monster Reborn. So I can bring back the monster I just discarded. Great Shogun Shien." Jeremy's strongest monster stood tall with his sword drawn as he stared down the enemy. (2500)

"With another warrior on your field, Brunhilda gains 300 more attack points." (2100-2400)

"My shogun's still the strongest one around. Now attack with Great Master's Blade." The warlord charged forward and swung his sword at Brunhilda. She blocked it with her shield, though half of it shattered and Wolfgang still lost life-points.

Wolfgang: 3100-3000

Jeremy had apparently not expected this. "What? How did she survive?"

"Brunhilda can avoid being destroyed in battle by giving up 1000 defense points." (2000-1000)

"Fine then. I'll just go ahead and end my turn with a face-down."

"At least she can only save herself one more time," Chumley said. "And even with her power boost, Jeremy's shogun is still stronger."

"I play Enchanted Sword Nothung. This gives Brunhilda 400 more attack points." The blue haired woman's sword changed to a longer silvery one. (2400-2800)

"You were saying Chumley?" Bastion asked.

"Attack his shogun." Despite being Jeremy's best monster, Great Shogun Shien was still overpowered by the incoming valkyrie.

Jeremy: 2300-2000

(2800-2500) "I invoke my three goddesses again." Jeremy held up The Six Samurai Yaichi, The Six Samurai Nisashi and Mirror Force. "Place the second card on top, then the first, then the third. Now I say your top card's a monster and it's The Six Samurai Nisashi." The spirit of the green armored samurai faded away like the others. "I end my turn."

Jeremy discarded Yaichi. "I'll play this face-down and that's all."

"With my turn coming again, it's time for my goddesses to do their thing." Jeremy's cards were Legendary Ebon Steed, Card of Sanctity and Marauding Captain. "Place the third card on top, then the first und the second. Now I say... Marauding Captain." The monster's spirit floated away. "Next I play Pot of Greed. Then Heroes of Valhalla. And for every monster in my graveyard with valkyrie in it's name or text, I can remove the same number of monsters from yours. So I'll remove Great Shogun Shien, Chamberlain of the Six Samurai, The Six Samurai Kamon and The Six Samurai Yaichi."

"If that kid's gonna do what I think he's gonna do, then Jeremy's in trouble, and big time," Joey said.

"I also play Pegasus Wings. With Fortune Chariot in the graveyard, by dividing the attack points of one valkyrie in half, she can attack you directly." Wings of light appeared on the horse's side. (2500-1250) "Then I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Mirror Force." A blue whirlwind blew away Jeremy's trap. "Finally, I activate Rainbow Bridge Bifrost. This increases the attack points of one valkyrie by 500 for every monster that has been removed from play."

"I lost count," Jaden said. "How many of Jeremy's monsters did he remove from play?"

Bastion answered. "He removed nine, therefore his valkyrie's strength increases by 4500."

"Not good!" Christine said.

"This is really bad!" Alexis chipped in.

"Aww man!"

"Not lishus!"

"This ain't gonna be pretty," Joey added.

Ziegfried gave Kaiba a self assured grin. "He is all but finished."

"We'll just see about that."

Brunhilda raised her sword and absorbed the energy from Jeremy's monsters, causing her attack points to shoot up. (1250-5750) "Attack him directly and end this duel." The horse spread its wings and flew over Jeremy's guardian.

"This isn't over yet. I reveal my trap card, Nutrient Z. Seeing as I'm about to take over 2000 damage, this kicks in with a 4000 point boost."

Jeremy: 2000-6000

The airborne rider struck Jeremy with her weapon, leaving him with but a fraction of his life-points.

Jeremy: 6000-250

"I end my turn." (5750-2500)

"If that wasn't a close call, then I don't know what is," Jaden said.

"He's still got a chance at this," Christine pointed out

"But what chance does he have?" Bastion asked. "He only has 250 life-points remaining and a monster that can't attack."

"Bastion," Christine said with a bit of a warning tone. "Why don't you say positive for a change?"

"Yes, umm, sorry."

"I must admit, he certainly is persistent like his father," Ziegfried commented.

"That much I'll agree with you," Kaiba said grudgingly. 'Come on kid, don't make me regret my decision.'

"All right, I may be down in points, but I'm not out of this. So here goes something. I play Card of Sanctity so we both draw until we have six cards. Then I'll throw this face-down and activate Turn Jump. Since this skips three turns ahead, I can play my face-down. Paths of Destiny. Now we both flip a coin and either gain or lose 2000 life-points depending on the result."

"So, you're depending on luck are you?"

"A little luck never hurt anyone." Both players flipped a coin and each got heads.

Jeremy: 250-2250

Wolfgang: 3000-5000

"Yes! Now I play my Dimension Fusion. By giving up the 2000 life-points I just gained, I get to summon back as many of my removed from play monsters as possible."

Jeremy: 2200-250

Great Shogun Shien, Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, The Six Samurai Kamon and The Six Samurai Nisashi rose on either side of Jeremy's still present guardian. (2500) (2100) (1500) (1400)

"The more warriors you have, the more Brunhilda's attack points go up." (2500-3700)

"She's not the only monster getting a boost. I play allied forces. And even though my guardian can't attack, he still helps power up my other guys, by 1000 attack points." (2900-3900) (2500-3500) (2100-3100) (1500-2500) (1400-2400) "Then I'll use Kamon's ability to destroy Brunhilda's sword." The named samurai threw a stick of dynamite that blew up the Valkyrie's weapon. Though the drew her original sword, her points still dropped. (3700-3300) "Finally, I equip my grandmaster with Legendary Ebon Steed. This gives him 200 more attack points and saves him from destruction once." A fierce black warhorse appeared beside the old warrior who mounted it. (3100-3300) "Great Shogun Shien, attack." The red armored warlord charged his enemy, taking out the remainder of her shield.

Wolfgang: 5000-4800

(1000-0) "Now that Brunhilda's out of defense points, Jeremy can take her down," Jaden said in realization.

"Grandmaster, charge." The warrior in question galloped forwards on his mount. He struck the valkyrie with his sword while their horses collided with each other. (3300-3100) "And now you're defenceless. And by the way, since my grandmaster's still around, Nisashi keeps all his extra points. And because he can attack twice in a turn, he's got just enough attack to finish the job. Go Double Samurai Strike." The green armored warrior dashed forward and hit Wolfgang with both his swords, depleting him of his life-points.

Wolfgang: 4800-0

"Now that is game" he saluted his opponent.

"Very well played," he complimented him.

The audience cheered at the victory. "Awesome dueling!"

"That was totally Lishus!"

"Very impressive."

"Nice going!"

"What a duel!"

"I knew you'd win!"

"Great job son!"

"It seems that Wheeler's son emerged victorious," Ziegfried stated. "I guess I'll have to accept your offer."

"Pleasure doing business," Kaiba replied in a tone that sounded like that of an almost friendly rival.

* * *

After Ziegfried and his son had already departed, Kaiba was doing the same. A Kaiba Corp helicopter was at the ready and waiting for its passengers to take off. "Sorry I could only stay for a short time," Joey said to his son. "But I want you to know that I'm proud of your dueling skills and everything you've done so far."

"Thanks dad. It was fun having you over."

"Goodbye Christine." Kaiba spoke to his daughter in a more formal tone, though she was used to such when they were around other people.

"Goodbye father."

"Are you coming along Wheeler?" he addressed Joey. "I'm not going to wait long for you."

"Yeah, yeah, rich boy. I'm coming."

"You came over with him?" Jeremy asked, surprised at such.

"Yeah. My mind's still tryin to figure out what convinced him to do that. Anyways, I'd better get going. Later." With one last wave at Jeremy and his friends, Joey got in the helicopter with Kaiba and they were off.

The students looked at them for a bit until it was far away. "Well, looks like things are going to get back to normal," Jaden commented.

"You mean as normal as things get around here," Jeremy added. They all laughed at the comment.

* * *

There it is. I had about as much fun making this chapter as the one with Jeremy vs. Kaiba. If you don't mind taking the extra time, then please click on the little spot below (you know the one I'm talking about), and tell me what you thought about this. Next chapter: Jeremy duels an Obelisk student so he'll leave Christine alone. Then Jaden's get's in trouble with another one afterwards and ends up dueling him, with Alexis as the prize.


	20. Dueling Sports

Disclaimer: Me: I don't own Yugioh GX.  
Jeremy: Really?  
Me: Yes, really!  
Jeremy: Well that sucks!  
Me: You have no idea! Now onward to the following chapter.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Dueling Sports**

It was another beautiful day at Duel Academy. Currently Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus were simply sitting on benches in the gym. Their alchemy class with Professor Banner had been cut short because of a technical difficulty that had prevented the Slifer headmaster from conducting his latest experiment. So for once they were in class before they even needed to. "I'm bored," Jaden said.

"Stop complaining Jay. If we were back in class you'd probably just be sleeping anyway," Jeremy pointed out.

"Yeah, and you'd probably be doing the same thing too."

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Jeremy, I think Jaden may have the upper hand in this argument," Syrus told him. "You have fallen asleep in class more than once before."

"Whatever." They kept quiet for all of about five seconds. "Ok, I'm bored too."

"Same here," Syrus stated.

They were interrupted from their thoughts when they were joined by a bunch of other students who'd decided to come to the gym early, among which were Alexis, Christine, Mindy and Jasmine. "Hey guys," Alexis greeted them.

"Hey. I'm surprised to see you here early," Jaden said.

"You're one to talk," she replied. Mindy and Jasmine giggled a bit at this. The girls sat down and they all talked amongst themselves for a bit, until they were interrupted by an Obelisk Blue boy who came up to them. He wore the blue blazer, had his black hair in a buzz cut and had the build of a football player.

"Hey," Jeremy greeted him.

Despite the Slifer's courtesy, he simply ignored him and sat down next to Christine. "Hi, you must be Christine."

"Yes, and you are?" she replied, already not quite fond of him and his behaviour.

"The name's Andrew Rosewood. You know, your face is as pretty as your name."

"He looks like a hairless gorilla stuffed in a blue coat if you ask me," Jeremy whispered to Jaden and Syrus who both chuckled at the comment.

Said 'hairless gorilla' snapped his head towards Jeremy. "I'm sorry, what was that you said?"

"Umm, I said you look like a football player," he replied, attempting to retain some trace of politeness.

"Well that much is to be expected. After all, I was captain of the football team at my school and top player before coming to Duel Academy," he boasted to Christine.

She didn't look too impressed by such. "Yeah, good to know."

"Something else that'd be good, would be to know more about you."

"Good luck doing that with the way you're acting," Jeremy muttered under his breath.

"You and me should go out and do have fun sometime," he winked at her.

"I think I'll pass on that opportunity."

"But Christine, just look at him," Mindy said. "He's so totally worth going for."

She raised a doubtful eyebrow as she looked at her friend. "Mindy, I respect who you are, but this is one time that I'm going to have to tell you to keep your opinion to yourself."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather hang out with me?"

"I think she's made that more than obvious in case you're too blind and deaf to notice." Jeremy had spoken up instinctively, though a small part of him was a little confused by his own actions.

"Why don't you get to your feet and take a hike, Slifer reject?"

"That's it. You got a problem, stuck up blue boy?" Jeremy replied as he felt his temper getting the best of him. "Cause my foot's got a pretty good idea of where it wants to go right now."

"Yeah I got a problem. It's five feet tall, has a weird hairdo and wears a Slifer Red jacket."

"Whoa, this guy's really getting on Jeremy's nerves," Syrus commented.

"Let's just hope he can keep some cool."

Jeremy stood up suddenly. "I'm almost five foot ten and I do not have a weird hairdo!"

"Whatever, just stay away from Christine. She's too good for you."

"She's my friend, and nobody tells me to stay away from my friends. Especially guys who can't handle the fact that she doesn't like them."

"Then maybe you want to settle the issue in a duel."

"Fine with me. But when I win, you'll leave her alone."

"You mean, when I win, she'll go out on a date with me."

"Fine, but she has to agree with the stakes first." Jeremy looked to Christine for an answer.

"Just kick his butt and don't you dare lose!" she told her friend.

"You got it. And don't you worry about me losing, cause I ain't gonna let it happen."

"Well just see about that," Andrew said as he and Jeremy got their duel disks and positioned themselves for the duel.

"Well, that was fast," Jaden commented.

"Who knew Jeremy had a temper like that?" Syrus wondered.

"Can't really say I expected you to accept the conditions of the duel," Alexis told Christine. "Or that Jeremy would defend you like that." Despite her words, if one were observant enough, they'd see that Alexis' face contradicted the last part of her statement.

"Even if Jeremy loses, at least you'll get a date," Mindy said with a dreamy look aimed at Andrew.

"Jeremy won't lose and I won't be going on a date with that guy!" Christine replied vehemently.

The two duelists inserted their decks, activated their disks and drew their starting hands. "Let's duel!"

Jeremy: 4000

Andrew: 4000

"The stars go first," Andrew said.

"Fine, just make your move already."

"Impatient much? I summon Battle Footballer in defense mode." A man wearing football padding and a helmet that hid his face kneeled down in front of Andrew. (2100) "Then I'll play this face-down and let you go."

"I send Shadow of the Six Samurai to the graveyard to special summon The Six Samurai Irou." The dark armored warrior stood tall before the samurai duelist. (1700) "And for my normal summon, I'll bring out The Six Samurai Yaichi." The bow wielding warrior rose next to his comrade. (1300) "Now with both of them on the field, I can have Yaichi destroy your face-down." The named monster pulled back on his bow and shot an arrow at Andrew's face-down. "Then I'll play my Book of Moon to flip your footballer face-down." The sporting monster was replaced by the image of the back of a card. "Now I'll have Irou attack."

"What good will that do you? My monster has 2100 defense points and your samurai only has 1700 attack."

"I guess you've never seen him in action before. Because if you had, you'd know that when he attacks a face-down monster, it's automatically destroyed." Irou stabbed the card without revealing it. "That's all for now."

"Nice move Jeremy," Jaden said. "You're totally schooling him right now."

"We'll just see about that. I summon Center Right Footballer." A football player like the last one appeared in front of Andrew. Except that he had a Jersey with a 09'. (1400) "Then I activate Double Summon which lets me bring out another monster. So say hello to Center Left Footballer." A nearly identical monster appeared, safe that it had a '90'. (1400) "And when both of them are out, they each get a 500 attack point boost." (1400-1900) x2 "Tackle his samurais." Both sportsmen charged Jeremy's monsters and shoulder slammed them.

Jeremy: 4000-3200

"That didn't look like fun," Syrus commented.

"He'll be fine," Jaden reassured him.

"I've done enough damage for now. So I'll let you go, though you might as well give up, because nothing will keep my Christine away from me."

"You just keep telling yourself that, football nut. Cause I'm about to return the favor. And I'll start with Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Then I'll summon The Six Samurai Nisashi." Jeremy's dual sword wielding samurai stood tall opposite the two enemies. (1400) "And I equip him with The Samurai Standing Alone and United we Stand. The first let's him avoid destruction once by taking the hit for him, but more importantly, he can use his special ability even though he's the only six samurai on my field. As for the second, it gives him an extra 800 attack and defense points." (1400-2200/700-1500) "Now attack his Center Right Footballer." Nisashi dashed forward and scored a hit on the number nine football player.

Andrew: 4000-3700

"With him gone, your other monster loses his power boost." (1900-1400) "Now thanks to his effect, Nisashi can attack again." The green samurai spun around and struck his remaining opponent.

Andrew: 3700-2900

"Nice comeback," Alexis commented.

"Good going Jeremy," Christine cheered him on.

"You're still a ways from winning this. I play Graceful Charity. So I draw three cards and get rid of two. And the cards I'm sending to my grave are Right Wing Footballer and Left Wing Footballer. With five monsters in my graveyard that have footballer in their names, I can special summon Ultimate Football Superstar." Yet another football monster appeared on Andrew's field. But this one was bigger and taller than the others, had a football in one hand and wore a deep red jersey with a '99' on it. (2700) "Now I play De-Spell to destroy United we Stand, which lowers your samurai's points." (2200-1400/1500-700)

"Why didn't he use De-Spell to destroy The Samurai Standing Alone?" Alexis wondered. "He'll do more damage, but Jeremy can save his samurai by giving up his spell."

"I don't know," Christine admitted.

"Now attack Nisashi." The strongest monster yet put a football on the ground and kicked it at Jeremy's warrior. It knocked him back, but he stayed on the field.

Jeremy: 3200-1900

"Sorry, but by sacrificing The Samurai Standing Alone, Nisashi stays on the field."

Andrew chuckled a bit to himself. "That move's going to hurt you more than help you. Because when my Ultimate Football Superstar attacks a monster and it isn't destroyed, he's allowed to attack one more time. Hit him again." The football monster ran at the green armored samurai and shoulder tackled him.

Jeremy: 1900-600

"I end my turn with one face-down."

"It looks like Christine might be going out on a date soon."

"Syrus, this isn't really helping you know," Alexis said.

"Come on Jeremy. I know you can do it," Christine encouraged him.

"Thanks, it's good to know that. My turn then. And I activate Card of Sanctity, which let's us both draw until we're each holding six cards. Then I summon Marauding Captain." A blond man wearing bits of armor and holding two swords appeared on the field. (1200) "With his effect, I can also summon The Six Samurai Yariza." The blue armored samurai stood next to his ally. (1000) "And I'll bring back Yaichi with Monster Reborn." Again the bow wielding monster took its place next on Jeremy's field. (1300)

"Fat lot of good that'll do you. Your strongest monster doesn't even have half the attack points that my Football Superstar does. He won't even make a scratch."

"He's not going to attack anyway, because I'm using his effect to destroy your face-down." The monster in question shot his master's opponent's face-down card. "For my last move, I play the spell Repeated Strike. First thing it does, is stop all my monsters from attacking, except for the one with the lowest attack points."

"Now that's just stupid," Andrew laughed at Jeremy.

"That's only the first thing it does. Because my monster with the least points get's to attack once for every monster on my field, including himself. And in case you didn't know, since Yariza's on the field with another six samurai, he can bypass your monster and hit you directly."

"And since Yariza has 1000 attack points and he can attack three times, that means he'll do 3000 damage," Syrus realized.

"That's just enough to beat Andrew," Jaden said.

"You know what? I always liked baseball better. And there's a triple play coming straight at you. Go get im Yariza." The samurai jumped high in the air and launched his spear at Andrew, which passed through him like a ghost.

Andrew: 2900-1900

"Strike one!" Yariza pulled on the cable connected to his weapon and it passed through Andrew on the way back.

Andrew: 1900-900

"Strike two!" Jeremy's attacking monster caught his spear as it flew back to its owner. He followed up by descending on the opposing Obelisk with his weapon slashing down.

Andrew: 900-0

"Strike three, you're out!"

"No... I lost," Andrew said as he fell to his knees.

"Yup, so now you won't be bugging Christine anymore." The Obelisk Blue boy suddenly burst into tears, got up and ran out of the gym. The others sweat dropped at seeing his behaviour.

"Awesome duel," Syrus congratulated him.

"Yeah, that was some killer combo at the end there," Jaden added.

"Thanks for getting that guy off my back Jeremy," Christine said.

"Hey, it was my pleasure. He was starting to tick me off and besides, you took care of Leila so I had to return the favor."

By then it was already time for their next class to start. The students already gathered went to the changing rooms in order to prepare for gym. While the Slifers boys were putting on their gym stuff, Syrus couldn't help but ask Jeremy a question he had in mind. "Soooo, are you and Christine... you know...?"

"Are we what?" Though he wasn't absolutely certain what Syrus meant, the smallest look of embarrassment on his face said that he had an idea of what was implied.

"You know... ah, forget what I said."

Jeremy simply shrugged it off. After having finished up, they found themselves decked out in shorts and shirts while playing tennis in pairs. Jeremy was teamed up with a fellow Slifer named Brian against Alexis and Christine. The boys were managing to keep from losing too badly, but only just. "Come on Jeremy, can't we do any better than this?"

"Probably. Only problem is, they're doing even better."

"Don't give up yet," Alexis said.

"Just keep trying and you might actually have a chance," Christine taunted.

"Come on Brian, let's show em what we can do." Brian served the ball to Alexis who returned it to Jeremy. He stretched out his arm and managed to send it to Christine who shot it back to their side with ease.

In the meanwhile, Jaden and Syrus were playing against Mindy and Jasmine. Like Jeremy and Brian, they were having a hard time keeping up with their opponents. "Will someone tell me what in the world tennis had to do with duelling?" Jaden asked.

"Everything," Mindy replied. "Taking turns, thinking on your feet, and the harder you try," she paused to hit the ball back at Jaden, "the better you'll do."

"Well in that case..." Jaden jumped high up and smacked the ball, though he hit it at a bad angle and sent it towards the next court in Alexis' direction. "Alexis, heads up!" Jaden shouted as the ball flew towards her. Fortunately, someone jumped in the way and swatted the ball away from the Obelisk girl.

Unfortunately, the projectile's new destination was in Dr. Crowler's direction who was overlooking another tennis match at the moment. The ball smacked him in the right eye and knocked him down in the process. "Thanks you," Alexis said to the guy who'd saved her from taking the hit. He had brown hair and eyes, and wore a tennis uniform with Duel Academy's logo.

"Alexis, that ball almost nailed you. Are you all right?" Jasmine, Mindy and Christine made their way over to their friend.

"Yeah, would you like me to carry you to the nurse?" He flashed them a smile that had Jasmine and Mindy sighing with a dreamy look on their faces. Christine simply shook her head at this.

"That's okay, thanks," Alexis replied politely.

The boy stared at her with a bit of a blush on his cheeks. 'That's Alexis Rhodes. Wow! She's cute!' he thought to himself.

"Umm... you do need me to carry you to the nurse?" she asked after hearing no reply from him.

He gave a short laugh, slightly embarrassed. "No, I'm good. It's just, I know you from Obelisk Blue and I've seen you around before. Not that I've ever had the pleasure of talking to you..." he said as he gently grasped her hand.

"Sweet," she said not entirely certain about what he was doing.

He looked down at his hand and let go upon realizing who it was holding. "... let alone touch you!" he added nervously. "Anyway, back to my match," he said as he walked off. "Now what was the score? Probably love-something."

"Oooookay, that was weird," Jaden commented. The others generally had confused looks on their faces. The brown haired Slifer then heard a sound behind him of someone clearing their throat. "Tell me it's not who I think it is," he asked his friends pleadingly.

"Yup, it's who you think it is," Jeremy replied.

* * *

Crowler was now getting his black eye treated at the nurse's office. Jaden had also come at the when he'd ordered it. "Look, I'm really, really, really, really, really sorry for causing what happened to your eye," Jaden apologized. "How's that?"

"Nope. That's still not a good enough apology." Miss Fontaine turned his head in her direction so that she could place a bag of ice on his black eye. "A little harder next time, I think some of my vertebrae might still be intact," he said angrily.

"You know Dr. Crowler, I saw the whole incident and technically, Jaden wasn't the one who hit you with that ball, if you don't mind me saying," she pointed out.

"But I do mind! Because Jaden was the one who started it all! I saw the entire thing with my own two eyes!" Fontaine gasped as he realized exactly what he'd said. "Well, one eye now."

"Cyclops," Jaden muttered between two coughs.

"Care to repeat that, you Slifer slime?" he asked as he turned towards him.

"Look, if you're gonna punish me, how about I just promise to quit playing tennis? I don't even like it."

"Don't like tennis heh?" Crowler said as he got up and walked next to Jaden. "Well, I can't think of a better punishment for your crime then. I'll make you play under the strict tutelage of our captain. He'll whip you up to shape in no time at all."

"Come on! I said sorry!" Jaden repeated.

"Oh yes. And you will be."

* * *

In the girls' locker room, Alexis and Christine were putting away their gym clothes after having changed back into their uniforms. "It wasn't fair for Crowler to take it out on Jaden like that," Alexis said.

"I doubt Crowler was really trying to be fair," Christine replied. "He was probably just looking for an excuse to push him around."

"Hey girls." They both turned around to see Mindy and Jasmine, back in their usual apparel, walking next to them with smiles on their faces.

"You two sure look happy," Christine commented.

"Guess what Lex? We found out who that hot tennis guy is for you," Mindy said.

"That's strange. I don't remember asking either of you to do that," she replied.

"Yeah, yeah," Jasmine said in an off handed manner. "Anyway, he's a total catch! His name is Harrington Rosewood, as in Rosewood Sporting Goods. And they've got stores everywhere! And him and his brother are the only heirs! Plus, he's a third year Obelisk Blue!"

"That's great." Alexis hardly sounded impressed.

"I don't suppose his brother's the guy who got his butt kicked by Jeremy before class?" Christine asked.

"That's him," Jasmine confirmed. "Too bad you two didn't have the chance to get close. He would've been a good one."

"Yeah..." She was still unconvinced by her words.

"Come on Alexis," Mindy encouraged. "Harrington's an older guy who's both rich and a hottie. He's not great, he's totally boyfriend material. So go get im before anyone else does."

"Girls, listen. I'm just not looking for a boyfriend right now."

Syrus suddenly ran past them, accompanied by Jeremy. "Aww man, aww man, aww man, aww man. Where's the lousy tennis team?" They happened to see the Obelisk Girls around the locker rooms and started to jog in place. "Alexis, do you know where the tennis team meets?"

"Out on the court," she replied. "What on earth is going on?"

"What's wrong? Everything's wrong!"

"Uhh, care to be a little more specific Syrus?" Jasmine asked.

"It's the most unfair thing ever."

"How so?" Christine asked.

"Dr. Crowler's letting the tennis captain boss Jaden around as punishment for hitting him for that ball," Jeremy filled in. The two Slifers then took off again.

"I still don't get it," Jasmine said. "How's that the most unfair thing ever?"

"Cause, the captain's the guy who really hit Crowler," Syrus yelled back as he ran.

* * *

"Service!" Harrington announced as he hit the ball towards Jaden. On the tennis courts, Jaden was being put through one of the toughest workouts he'd done in a while. The captain sent serve after serve towards him with Jaden trying to hit them back the best he could. Despite his efforts, he could hardly keep up and eventually sunk to his knees.

"I thought we we're supposed to be… playing tennis, not… running speed drills," he said as he tried to catch his breath. Harrington started serving another salve of balls towards the exhausted Slifer. "Man, this guy doesn't let up He got up and tried to hit them back, but tripped on a stray ball and fell down.

Harrington walked up to the net with a smirk on his face. "Come on Jaden, no pain, no gain. You've gotta hustle to build those muscles. You need to sweat to become a threat. If you don't pick up the pace, you'll never win the race."

"Okay Harrington. There's no need for the sport clichés. I get it already!"

"There's no letter 'I' in the word 'team'," he replied as he did a pose with his arm in the air. "That's the first rule in tennis."

"Really? Even when you're playing singles?" Jaden asked.

"Moving on. It's time for you to work on your forehands and backhands," Harrington said, swinging his racket as he spoke. "A thousand strokes should make tennis more your racket. Get it? Get it?"

"This guy gives the word 'weird' a whole new meaning," Jeremy commented. Him, Syrus, Christine, Jasmine and Mindy were currently watching from the sidelines.

"I get it alright," Syrus said. "This guy's a nut. The clichés, the crazy practicing…"

"You know, he does seem a little bit obsessive," Jasmine added.

"Let him obsess… over me!" Mindy said with a wide smile on her face.

Jaden continued the practice until one of his swings caused him to collapse on the ground and send the ball towards one of the people watching. "Well, that makes ten at least."

Mindy spotted Alexis. "Hi Alexis!" she greeted her.

"Alexis?" Harrington turned around to see the blonde Obelisk girl walking in his general direction. "Sorry I'm sweating so much. It's just that I've been too busy kicking this guy's-" he stopped himself when he realized that Alexis had walked by him without sparing him a glance.

She walked next to the brown haired Slifer. "Jaden, you won't believe what I just heard. I was on my way here and I ran into Professor Banner. He told me that someone spotted Chazz."

"No kidding. Where is he?" Jaden asked.

"So he really left the island," Jeremy said.

Harrington was hardly please at seeing Alexis talking to Jaden. A fact that was obvious to anyone who'd hear or see him. "A dumb bench loafer like Jaden talking to a girl like Alexis? No way! Time for a little interference!"

"HEY! TIME OUT!"

Everyone looked at the angry Obelisk boy as he walked over, fumes almost coming out of his ears. "No Slifer reject deserves to talk to a first round pick like Alexis! You can't even return a bucky-whip with some topspin, so stay away from my Obelisk pixie!"

"That makes it official, this guy's weird and has got some serious problems," Jeremy stated.

"Not to mention he's a jerk," Christine added.

"I'm warning you Jaden, just stay away from her! Do not make me go athletic on you!"

"Whoa man, chill out. Alexis and I were just talking here," Jaden said. "So, you were saying Lex?"

Jaden jumped back when Harrington got right in front of him. "Lex? What is that, some sort of pet name? Where'd it come from? What's it mean? What's it short for?" He fired off the questions one after the other.

"Umm, Alexis," Jaden answered.

"The weird gene must be a predominant one in the Rosewood family," Christine commented.

"You'd like me to believe that, wouldn't you? But I don't. Which is why this little huddle is over…" Harrington said.

"Good, now get lost!" Jaden replied.

"No way bro, know your sports. When a huddle is over, you make your play, you don't run away."

"I get it. You want a tennis match right?"

"Not quite. I wanna duel. Winner becomes Alexis' fiancée."

"Whoa, Fiancée? Slow down a minute!" Alexis spoke up.

"Did I just hear that right?" Jeremy asked. "Or did my ears suddenly develop some kind of problem?"

"No, your ears are fine," Christine said. "It's just that guy that's got problems, beyond the obvious ones."

"I just love weddings!" Mindy squealed excitedly.

"Yeah, but I'm not so sure about arranged ones," Jasmine added.

"Well, I'm so sure about the stakes, but I never back down from a challenge. Harrington, let's throw down!" Jaden announced.

"Huh!" Alexis said in surprise.

"I hope Jaden knows what he's doing."

"Don't worry Sy, Jaden usually knows what he's doing," Jeremy pointed out. "At least, when he's dueling."

Jaden and Harrington went to the locker rooms and came back with their duel disks strapped onto their arms and their decks armed and ready. "You sure you still want to do this?" Harrington asked.

"Yep," Jaden replied. "I'm always ready for a duel. So get your game on!"

Jaden: 4000

Harrington: 4000

"Two cuties duelling it out for your hand in marriage, how do you feel?" Mindy asked her friend.

Alexis crossed her arms and sighed. "Please Mindy, I'm not getting married."

"Oh fine, engaged. What, are we splitting hairs here?" Jasmine added.

"I'm not getting engaged either Jaz," she gave her friend a stare as she spoke. "The only reason I haven't walked out of this is because I wanted to see if the rumors are true. To see if Harrington's really as good as Zane."

"Those are the rumors?" Syrus asked. "If he's as good as my big brother, then Jaden's in for it, and big time."

"Yeah right, it's only rumors. Jaden will beat this guy in no time," Jeremy said confidently.

"Service!" Harrington shouted as he drew. "First, I'm gonna volley a spell card at you. Service Ace! And just like a power serve, it's gonna make you sweat. Here's how it works. I pick a card from my hand, then you have to choose if it's a spell, trap or monster. Guess right, you're fine. But if you don't, then get served a whipping 1500 points of damage."

"That card's something big," Jeremy commented.

"Yeah, big trouble for Jaden," Syrus added.

"So all I have to do is guess? Well that's easy." Jaden concentrated as he tried to figure out the card his opponent was holding.

"Look at you. I bet this is the hardest workout you've had all week," Harrington jibbed.

"Fine, I'll guess. It's a spell card."

"Huh? You sure about that? You can still change your mind you know."

"Uhh, wait! I'll say it's a trap instead."

The Obelisk boy laughed. He turned the card to reveal Mega Thunderball. "Monster. Looks like we found something else you're bad at.2 Jaden cringed at this. "Anyway, now I remove this card and let loose Service Ace! Good luck returning this shot pal!" A burning tennis ball shot out from the spell card and smashed the ground at Jaden's feet.

Jaden: 4000-2500

"15-love. And I'll put this face-down to finish the set. Your serve."

"Here goes." Jaden looked over the cards in his hand for a second before making his decision. "I summon my pal Elemental Hero Avian." The green air hero gave a cry as he appeared on Jaden's field. (1000) "Now Avian, show Harrington why you're the king of the court. Attack, with Quill Cascade." The hero in question spread his wings from which shot out a flurry of white feather towards the Slifer's opponent.

"Don't think so bird brain. I activate receive ace. This trap negates your attack and deals 1500 points of damage to you. Good luck avoiding this storm." The feather were blown back to Jaden by a wind that erupted from the named trap card.

Jaden: 2500-1000

"That's 30-love, although I do have to send the top three card from my deck to the grave because of my trap."

"Well I'm just gonna throw down a face-down. And that's it for me."

"Boy, you are lazy aren't you? Fine with me, it makes it that much easier. I play Smash Ace. It let's me flip the top card of my deck, and if it's a monster…"

"Lemme guess, I get nailed, right?"

"You're starting to get the swing of this huh? And with this, you will be getting swung at." He picked up his card and held out Mystical Shine Ball. "A monster."

"Lady Luck, she hates me!"

"Well, she loves me. Of course, most girls do."

"The only way modesty could be used to describe him is as something he's not," Christine commented.

"Now get ready for smash ace." Another flaming tennis ball sped from the new spell towards Jaden.

"Sorry, but I'm activating my face-down card, Feather Wind. Ever heard of it, or should I say, have you ever caught wind of it?" Jaden's hero flapped his wings, deflecting the projectile that deviated towards the people watching them.

"No way!"

"Sorry pal, but your ace just got blown out of bounds," he pointed his thumb to his friends.

"Well, you know what they say, you win some, you lose some. Sometimes you gotta take hits to give em." Harrington then started laughing.

"Great," Jaden moaned. "He's back on his cliché kick. Well here's mine, he who laughs last, laughs loudest." Jaden started laughing along.

The students watching all sweat dropped at their bizarre behaviour. "Now this is just pathetic," Syrus commented.

"I'll have to agree with you on that one Sy, this is just plain weird," Jeremy added.

They continued for a moment, until Jaden stopped abruptly. "You know what Harrington? You can win this lousy laugh fest, but the duel's a different story. Sure, you may have home court advantage, but it doesn't matter. Wanna know why? Cause in a duel, I'm always at home." Harrington ceased his laughter in time to see Jaden begin his next turn. "Sweet! I'm playing Polymerization to fuse Clayman and Burstinatrix into, the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster." The female armored hero stood up next to Avian. (2000)

"Now that's how you duel," Syrus said.

"Like that? Then you're gonna love this. Avian, attack with Electric Orb." The winged hero formed a white ball of energy in his hands and threw it at the tennis maniac.

Harrington: 4000-3000

"Next up is Rampart Blaster. Rampart Barrage." The feminine monster shot a bunch of rockets from her cannon arm that landed around Harrington, further diminishing his life-points.

Harrington: 3000-1000

"All tied up," Jaden said with a confident look.

"Way to go Jaden," Syrus cheered.

"Nice moves man," Jeremy added.

"Well, at least they stopped laughing," Alexis remarked.

"So, got any clichés to say now?"

"I suppose I have a few in store, but in this case, I'll let my cards do the talking for me. And this one says it all. Deuce." A card appeared on Harrington's field, showing a score board with '40' on each side.

"Another tennis spell card I guess."

"That's right. And I guarantee you've never seen one like this before. I can only activate it when we both have 1000 life-points. And here's how it works. As long as it's out on the field, each player can only attack with one monster per turn, and life-points don't matter. You win by being the first to damage your opponent twice in a row."

"So, it's just a straight up head to head match now?" Jaden asked.

"That's right. I told you that card would say it all. And now I summon the Big Server." A humanoid robot appeared in front of Harrington. It wore an orange t-shirt, dark shorts, a bandana and most of its right forearm was a tennis racket. (300) "And the reason his serve is so big, is that it strikes the opponent's life-points directly. Big Server attack, with Spiked Serve." The tennis monster threw a metal spiked ball in the air and hit it with his racket towards Jaden.

Jaden: 1000-700 (1 attack down)

"Advantage, Harrington. That was easy. Just one more strike, and you'll be finished. The duel will be done, and Alexis will be mine."

"Seriously, this guy is too obsessive," Jeremy commented.

"That's putting it mildly," Christine added.

'Jaden, if you lose…' Alexis thought to herself.

"By the way, big Server's effect let's me take Service Ace from my deck and put it right in my hand. You get a new card too, but it's not like it'll matter. I mean, let's be real here, there's no way it'll be as good as this one. How could it be, so just draw your card. And now, I'll serve up the Service Ace I just got. You remember how it works, right? You choose this card's type. If you're right, you're safe. If not…"

"I'm a goner," Jaden stated. 'Especially since it'll be two hits in a row. I've got a one in three chance of getting this right. So here goes.' "All right, I guess you're holding a monster card."

Harrington's face showed surprise at Jaden's correct guess. "You got it," he said as he revealed another Mega Thunderball.

"Sweetness! I'm still in this thing."

"Oh yeah? I wouldn't be so sure of this now. Especially after this. I equip Big Server with Giant Racket." A wide red racket attached itself to the tennis monster's back. "So, you still in it?"

"To win it! I can take that server guy down any time."

"But you won't be able to do it on your first try. You see, a monster equipped with giant Racket can negate your attack once."

"But Jaden only get's to attack with one monster per turn because of that Deuce card. So he won't be able to destroy the Big Server," Syrus realized.

"So you see Jaden, you're not in it, you're about to lose."

'Not as long as there are cards in my deck." "Here goes. Sweet! The ball's in my court now. First, I activate De-Fusion. With it, I can split Rampart Blaster back into Clayman and Burstinatrix." The targeted monster disappeared in a flash of light and was replaced by the heroes of fire and earth. (1200) (800) "Now I have three monsters on the field, which means even if my first attack's blocked, I've got two more in waiting. So you'll lose the duel."

Harrington laughed at Jaden's statement. "I'm starting to see why you're ranked as a Slifer, because you don't listen. As long as Deuce is in play, you can only attack with one monster each turn. It doesn't matter if you have three."

"What's Jaden thinking?" Syrus asked.

"Not sure," Jeremy admitted. "But still, the numbers of monsters on the field doesn't just mean more monsters to attack with." The diminutive Slifer looked at him in confusion. "Don't you remember how I just won my duel? If Jaden has a card like the one I used, then Harrington's in for it."

"I'm starting to see why you're a snobby Obelisk," Jaden replied.

"What?"

"Cause you really underestimate your opponents. I play Feather Shot. It let's Avian attack once for every monster out on my field."

"It's just like Repeated Strike, except specific to Avian," Christine stated.

"I drew this card when you activated Big Server's effect. You said that it wouldn't matter what I'd get. But as it turns out, it does matter. Now Avian, attack three times with Quill Cascade." The winged hero flapped his wings and shot out a flurry of feathers towards Harrington's field which were blocked by the Giant Racket. "That's one." He flapped his wings again and sent a second white shower his enemy who couldn't stand it this time. "That's two."

Harrington: 1000-300 (1 attack down)

"And third time will be the charm." The third bunch of feathers connected with Harrington, thus defeating him.

Harrington: 0 (2 attacks down)

"Now that's game!" Jaden said as he did his usual victory stance.

"This can't be." Harrington's eyes were suddenly overflowing with water. "She was my soul mate, my first draft pick, my marquis girlfriend!" He ran away from the courts in tears.

"Uhh," Jaden was left speechless from Harrington's emotional outburst.

"Nice duel Jay!" Jeremy complimented him.

"You sure had to work for that one," Syrus said.

"Hey, no pain, no gain!" he replied.

"Speaking of gain, does that mean Jaden's gained a wife?" Jasmine asked Mindy.

"That's so romantic!" Mindy said.

Jaden walked up to Alexis. "So Lex, I guess I'm your fiancée now, huh?"

"He's going through with this?" Syrus said with widened eyes.

"Soo, what's it mean anyway?"

Syrus, Jasmine and Mindy fell to the floor at the question. Jeremy slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand and Christine simply shook he head in disbelief. "You've gotta be joking. Jaden, it means-" he started to explain, but it was cut short by Christine elbowing him in the stomach, and hard.

"It means friend… at least for now big guy," Alexis told him.

"I guess we were already fiancées then. Hey Jeremy, what's with you?" he asked as he saw his friend clutching his stomach.

"It's… nothing… really. I'm… fine," he wheezed out.

"Okay then. Well, later guys!" he said as he walked out of the gym.

Jeremy managed to regain his breath shortly after. "If you didn't want him to know, you could've stopped me some other way."

"Sorry about that," Christine apologized. "Does it still hurt?"

"I'm good now. Just remind me never to make you angry."

"I'll try to watch myself around you inthe future," she said with a hand on his shoulder.

They walked out, neither of them able to see the small smile creeping up on Alexis' face as she watched them go.

* * *

Hope you liked it and if you don't mind taking the extra time... then pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease review. If there are any spelling mistakes or whatever, I'll fix them when I re-read this.

Cards made up by me.

**Center Right Footballer**

Attr: Earth

Type: Warrior

Lv: 4

Atk/Def: 1400/1400

Effect: Increase this card's attack points for every 'Center Left Footballer' you control.

Image: A football player that looks like Battle Footballer, except that it has a Jersey with a '09'.

**Center Left Footballer**

Attr: Earth

Type: Warrior

Lv: 4

Atk/Def: 1400/1400

Effect: Increase this card's attack points for every 'Center Right Footballer' you control.

Image: The same as Center Right Footballer, except with '90'.

**Right Wing Footballer**

Attr: Wind

Type: Warrior

Lv: 2

Atk/Def: 0/0

Effect: You can special summon this monster if you control one or more 'Left Wing Footballer'. This card gain as many attack points as those of 'Left Wing Footballer'.

Image: A footballer player with a '40'.

**Left Wing Footballer**

Attr: Wind

Type: Warrior

Lv: 5

Atk/Def: 2100/1300

Normal monster

Image: Same as all the others, except with a '04'.

**Ultimate Footballer Superstar**

Attr: Light

Type: Warrior

Lv: 7

Effect: You can special summon this card from your hand if you have five 'footballer' monsters in your graveyard. If this card attacks a monster that isn't destroyed, it can attack once again.

Image: A football monster like the others, except bigger and taller, has a football in one hand and a deep red jersey with a '99' on it.

**Repeated Strike**

Normal Spell

Effect: None of your monster may attack, except for the one with the lowest attack points. That monster can attack once for every monster you control (including itself).

Image: A large boulder on top of a mountain that isn't moving and a bunch of smaller ones rolling down.

Next chapter: Jaden, Syrus and Jeremy are on a hunt for a giant. But as they track him, a strange person insists on dueling Jeremy.


	21. Giants and Ninjas

Disclaimer: LALALALALALALALALALALALALALA, oh, and I don't own Yugioh GX.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to AzureKite4. Even though I didn't use his character or the cards he made up, they still helped. And you should check out his fic too.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Giants and Ninjas**

Late in the night, a duel was going on in the forest. A sound could be heard, accompanied by an explosion of light. An Obelisk Blue student was thrown back and his cards were tossed about as he was defeated. He looked up and could see his opponent clearly enough to distinguish him. He was a giant person who wore a bunch of Obelisk Blue blazers about him and black shades that covered his eyes. He bent down and took one of the loser's cards.

"I'll be taking this," the giant said. "You're lucky a card is all you're losing tonight!" the Obelisk student was shocked still with fear. "Next time, pick on someone your own size." He laughed a little to himself as he walked away.

* * *

Next day, a couple of Obelisks were talking amongst themselves about the duel that had happened the previous night. "I heard he picked off another one last night."

"Me too. They say he's huge. And that no one can beat him."

"I heard that-"

"Hey, what's up?" Jaden greeted them as he walked up to them, along with Syrus, Chumley and Jeremy. The three Obelisks looked in their direction, sneered and walked away. "Wow, is my breath really that bad?" Jaden asked no one in particular.

"They're just a bunch of elitist snobs," Jeremy said.

Syrus was no happier at their behaviour. "Lousy Obelisks. Whispering behind our backs and then just strutting off."

"Duh you guys, they're talking about the Duel Giant," Chumley explained.

"Duel Giant?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, some really big guy who's been challenging all the Obelisk blue students to duels and winning. What's scary is that he only comes out at midnight."

"Wait a sec, I heard about this guy," Syrus realized. "He takes their cards too!"

"Yeah, he makes them play with an ante. You know, when you put up your best card, and if you lose you give it up."

"Isn't that illegal though?"

"Sure is. That's why he duels in disguise. See, he wears the blue blazers of all the Obelisk students he's beaten."

"Sounds like one though guy," Jeremy commented.

"Oh Jaden m'boy!" The four Slifera saw Dr. Crowler walking up to them with a smile on his face.

"He's being nice, something's not right," Syrus said.

"How would you like to have no homework for the rest of the year?"

"No homework?" Jaden asked.

"You, Syrus and Jeremy. That is, if you're willing to help me out. So, what do you say?"

"Cool! Works for me!" Jaden exclaimed.

"For no homework all year I'd do almost anything," Jeremy said.

"Uhh guys? Shouldn't we know what were helping him with before we agree to anything?" Syrus spoke up.

"Don't fret about that, it's nothing big. Just going out on a little field trip," Crowler said with a smile still plastered on his face.

Jaden smiled at the prospect of such an easy task. "I love field trips. So, where's this one taking us teach?"

"All around the campus. I need you to find and duel the one who's having these illegal matches. You know who I'm talking about don't you? The Duel Giant?"

"Oh, you mean the guy who's beaten most of the guys in your dorm," Jeremy mentioned.

Crowler's smile dropped for a moment because the comment. "I don't keep track of these things. Good luck to you all." 'This is perfect,' he thought to himself as he walked away. 'Once Jaden reports back to me with whoever this Duel Giant is, I'll have them both expelled for illegal dueling. This can't possibly go wrong.'

"Alright!" Jaden pumped his arm in the air. "Let's find this super sized duelist."

"Uhh Jaden? Is it too late to point out that this is a bad idea?" Syrus asked. "I mean, doesn't Crowler have a thing that he kind of doesn't like you?"

"That much is obvious. But how could I possibly turn down no homework, a field trip and a big duel?"

"By saying no?" Syrus proposed.

"I mean, do you even know how to say no?" Chumley asked.

"Yes." Chumley and Syrus groaned while Jeremy chuckled at this.

"So how're we gonna find this guy?" Jeremy wondered. Jaden simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

"You mean to say, we don't even have a plan?" Syrus cried out. "This is getting worse by the second."

"Then we'd better hurry up and get started." The four Slifers then went off in search of their target, unaware of the shadowy form watching them from around the corner.

"Interesting," the person muttered to themselves. "This could be just the perfect opportunity to prove that samurais aren't all that you think they are."

* * *

Despite the fact that the boy's goal was to find the Duel Giant, Jaden had stopped for a moment to watch a duel in an arena between an Obelisk and a Ra. "Jaden, if we keep taking breaks like this, we'll never find the Duel Giant. Shouldn't we be working on our homework instead?"

"Come on Sy, the Duel Giant will be easy. And when that's done, we won't have any homework. Plus, this duel looks like a good one."

The Obelisk student had 200 life-points, one card face-down and Marauding Captain in attack mode. (1200) He was facing off against a small green haired nervous boy with three hundred life-points and Mad Sword Beast also in attack mode. (1400) "Okay, I'll play…uhhh…" he said as he looked at the card in his hand.

Jaden leaned forward to see the Ra's cards better. "Sweet! He's got Earthquake."

"Cool! And with Mad Sword Beast effect, he's got this one in the bag," Jeremy added.

'Come on Brier, you've got him right where you want. Now win this duel and go home. Just forget about everyone who's watching you. Now, should I use Earthquake to switch his captain to defense mode? Or should I just attack with my Mad Sword Beast?"

"Make you move!" his opponent yelled impatiently. "I'd like to get home sometime this school year!" The Obelisks watching joined in on putting the Ra down.

"What's the matter short-stack? Can't see over the cards?"

"Looks like the little baby's gonna cry. Wanna call you mommy?"

Brier tried to focus on his hand despite their words. "Eenie, meenie…"

"Miney, moe!" the Obelisk finished the angrily. "Just make a move, you're going way too slow!"

Brier cringed from the outburst and closes his eyes. "I… I attack with my Mad Sword Beast!" he yelled.

"Wha?" The four Slifers in the audience were visibly confused by the fact that he didn't use the card they thought he would. The opposing Obelisk smirked as the dinosaur charged the swordsman.

"I activate my face-down card. It's called Reinforcements and I give me 500 attack points. And I think I'll give them to my Marauding Captain." The warrior was powered up as he charged to meet the incoming monster. (1200-1700) With a swing of a sword, he defeated his enemy.

Brier: 300-0

"That's too bad," Jeremy commented

"And he was so close," Jaden added.

"A classic case of stage fright." The four of them turned to see Bastion standing next to them with his arms crossed. "The boy has tremendous skill, but he hasn't been able to get over his anxiety of dueling in public like this."

Brier was down on his knees, almost on the verge of crying. "I didn't think it was possible, but on his knees he's even smaller than before." The victorious Obelisk and his dorm mates laughed at the diminutive Ra.

The small boy had an angry look on his face as he walked off the stage. The anger he displayed made Jaden fell a little uneasy. Winged Kuriboh and Shien's Footsoldier appeared beside their respective partners. '_Coo!'_ Kuriboh resounded.

'_There's more to this boy than meets the eye,'_ the monkey spirit said to the two Slifers. They both silently agreed that the Ra was not quite what he seemed.

"So, what's the crew up to these days?" Bastion inquired.

"We're looking for a giant," Syrus explained.

"A giant?" he gave them a questioning look.

"Yeah, you know the one who's been beating all the Obelisks."

"Yes, I've heard about this titan. He doesn't sound like someone you'd want to come across if he's angry."

"Hey, speaking of…" Jaden indicated on of the exits, "check it out!" They looked to where he was pointing and saw Brier walking towards a big Ra student who was holding his arms out as if to comfort him. He almost reached the ceiling and was wider than most people.

"Seriously, just look at that guy. He's huge!" Syrus said.

"Who, Beauregard?" Bastion chuckled. "Please, he's no Duel Giant."

"What're you talking about? He certainly looks like one."

Bastion laughed at this. "But he's no duelist Sy. He's at the academy studying to design games, not play them. I know him, he can barely duel."

"Games huh? Oh well."

* * *

Brier and Beauregard were walking through the hallway by themselves, the larger student attempting to console his friend from his loss. "Well, looky what we got here!" The Obelisk Brier had dueled approached them with his friends in tow. "Someone's going over the hall's maximum weight limit." Beauregard groaned, but did nothing more than such. "Are you catching my drift, wide-load? You're in my way!"

He looked down at his friend who tugged on his sleeve. "Come on." Both stepped of to the side to make way for the blue students.

"Next time you should use the freight elevator." The Obelisks didn't notice the glare Brier sent at them as they walked past.

"Hey, hold up!"

Brier stepped back as he saw Jaden, Syrus, Jeremy and Chumley running up to him and Beauregard. "Who are you?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm Jaden." He responded to the question and turned looked up at Beauregard. "Sorry, but I didn't want to wait until midnight to duel you."

Beauregard's expression turned into one of surprise, while Brier took a step forward. "And what's that supposed to mean?" The larger Ra scowled, which caused Syrus and Chumley to step back.

"It means, I know you're the Duel Giant. So let's throw down right here!"

"What're you talking about?" Brier interceded. "There's no such thing s the Duel Giant. Come on Beauregard." He grabbed his friend's hand and lead him away from the Slifers.

"No?" Jaden asked.

"No," Brier called back.

"Nooo?"

"NO!"

"Jaden, I really don't think that guy's the Duel Giant. You heard what Bastion said. He's a game designer, not a duelist. It doesn't add up," Chumley pointed out.

"I don't know," Jeremy said. "There's something about Brier that seems a little… off." Syrus and Chumley looked at him with quizzical expressions. "I mean, the Duel Giant's been the talk of the campus lately and he's saying he doesn't even exist."

"Yeah, I noticed something strange about him." They stood there in thought for a moment. "I've got an idea. We'll wait at the academy's front entrance until this Giant makes an appearance. Then we'll swoop in for a duel."

"Works for me," Jeremy said.

* * *

It was almost midnight and the four Slifers were currently behind a large stone near the front of the academy. Jaden and Jeremy were peering around the stone, looking for any signs of the Duel Giant, while their friends were being a little spooked out by the night. "Hey guys?" Syrus spoke up. "You really think the giant is gonna show up tonight?"

"Shh!" Jeremy silenced him. "He might not if we don't keep quiet."

"Look, there's two things I do with my mouth," Chumley said. "One's talking, the other's eating. So either give me a grilled cheese or-" He didn't get to finish his statement as he was interrupted by a scream coming from in the woods.

"That must be the Duel Giant!" Jaden exclaimed. "Let's go guys!"

"More like his newest victim," Syrus muttered.

The four boys ran for a while, until they found an Obelisk Blue boy kneeling on the ground with his deck strewn about. "You okay dude?" Jeremy asked.

"The Duel Giant took my best card," the Obelisk moaned.

"Where'd he go?" he pointed ahead and Jaden they all continued running.

"Hey, that guy's from the arena," Chumley realized as he passed by him.

As they were running, Jeremy's duel spirit appeared next to him. '_There's someone else around here,' he _warned before fading away.

Jeremy suddenly stopped moving and held back his friends as well. "What's going on Jeremy?" Jaden asked.

"Wait a second, there's someone nearby, other than us and the Duel Giant." They paused for a second, before a shadowy form dropped down in front of them. Syrus and Chumley screamed in fright, while Jaden and Jeremy jumped back, the latter putting his hands up in front of himself.

Having the time to examine the person a little, they could see an Obelisk Blue Boy standing before them. He was about as tall as Jeremy, had pale skin, green eyes, wore a black bandana covering his short bluish hair and his dorm's blazer. "You're Jeremy Wheeler, the academy's famed Six Samurai duelist," he spoke of the Six Samurai with a sneer on his face. "I'm surprised you even knew about me beforehand."

"Yeah, I duel with the Six Samurais," came the reply, though he omitted mention of his duel spirit. "Lemme guess, you're some elitist blue guy who uses a ninja deck and has it in for me because I'm a Slifer and because of how our monsters clash. Right?"

Jeremy's friends looked stunned by the deduction. "How'd you figure that out?" Jaden asked.

"I've seen a lot of movies, and I know a fair bit about samurais, which includes knowing about the fact that ninjas are their rivals. Plus, this guy moves like one, so it's logic to assume he duel's the same way." The three other Slifers nodded in understanding. "Why don't you guys go after the Duel Giant? I'll stay behind with ninja boy here."

"You sure?"

"Relax Jay, I'll be fine." Jaden, Syrus and Chumley started running again in pursuit of the Duel Giant and left the two duelists behind to face-off. "So, it's just you and me."

The ninja Obelisk smirked. "Good, now I, Kaniq, shall show you why Samurais are worthless against ninja's superior techniques."

"If that's what you really think, then you're in for a major shock."

Both of them started up their duel disks and drew their starting hands. "Let's do this!"

Jeremy: 4000

Kaniq: 4000

"I summon The Six Samurai Nisashi in attack mode." Jeremy's green armored samurai stood tall before him (1400) "And I equip him with The Samurai Standing Alone. This let's him use his effect when he's the only six samurai monster I control and it can save him from destruction once. That's all for now."

"I summon Ninja Haguro in defense mode." A short man wearing a dark blue ninja outfit showing only his hands and face appeared on Kaniq's field. His face was painted white and he carried two short daggers on each side of his belt. (500) "Thanks to his special ability, when he's in defense, I can summon another one from my deck." A copy of the blue ninja crouched down next to the first. (500) "That ends my turn."

"All right then. I summon Spirit of the Six Samurai." A full set of purple armor with golden symbols on it appeared next to Jeremy's warrior. Inside the armor was a blue ghost like figure. (500) "And since it's a union monster, I can equip him to Nisashi." The spirit then proceeded to cover the green samurai in its own armor. "With that done, Nisashi gains 500 attack points." (1400-1900) "By the way, thanks to his special ability, he can attack twice per turn." The union enhanced monster unsheathed his swords and dashed at the defending ninjas, eliminating them each with one blow. "And when a monster equipped with Spirit of the Six Samurai destroys a monster in battle, I get to draw a card. So I'll go ahead and end my turn with a face-down."

"Very well then. I summon back one of my Ninja Haguro's thanks to Silent Doom." The blue clad ninja kneeled down in front of the Obelisk student. (500) "And I'll activate his special effect once again, to summon the last Ninja Haguro from my deck." The final blue ninja appeared beside the other. (500) "Now I'll sacrifice one of them to summon Ninja Master Shogun." One of the ninja monsters disappeared and was replaced by another wearing red armor. The new warrior also wore a mask with horns, a yellow shirt and purple pants. (1600)

'Wonder why he played that. It's not like he can beat my samurai.'

"Now I activate his special ability. When he's tribute summoned, I can summon two level four or below ninjas from my deck. I choose Ninja Commando Kabuki and White Ninja." The first named monster had a mask over its face, an outfit that was white above the waist and yellow underneath and black pants. The second wore entirely white and gray, its face covered entirely except for a line across its eyes. (700) (1500) "And when Ninja Commando Kabuki is summoned, I can bring out another ninja from my hand or deck. So meet the Strike Ninja." The renown Dungeon Dice monster appeared beside the others. Wearing a black outfit, with a star shaped golden mask, armbands, leggings and a red cape. (1700)

"Nice moves. But unless you're gonna play another card, none of your monsters can beat Nisashi."

"But I will. I equip Strike Ninja with Fuhma Shuriken. Giving him an additional 700 attack points." The named monster put away its two daggers and drew out a pair of shurikens. (1700-2400) "Strike Ninja, attack his samurai." The upgraded ninja jumped in the air and tossed both his weapons at Jeremy's monster.

"Not so fast there. I have a trap. Mirror Force. Say goodbye to all your monsters in attack mode." A transparent barrier appeared around the green armored warrior. The two shurikens broke into shards upon contact and were reflected at Kaniq's field.

"Like ninjas in the past, mine can disappear in thin air. I activate Strike Ninja's effect. By removing two dark monsters in my graveyard, I can remove him from play for the rest of the turn. So he won't be affected by Mirror Force. And there's more, since Fuhma Shuriken is going to the graveyard, you lose 700 life-points." The black clad ninja caught the shard coming at him and tossed it back at Jeremy, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The piece of metal hit Jeremy's disk, but the remaining ninjas were destroyed by the others, with the exception of Haguro.

Jeremy: 4000-3300

"I play this face-down and since my turn is over, Strike Ninja comes back." The named monster reappeared in the same manner that it left. (1700)

"My go then. And I'll summon The Six Samurai Yaichi." The yellow armored samurai stood next to its green counterpart. (1300) "With his ability, I can destroy one of your face-down spells or traps once per turn. Rapid Arrow." The bow wielding monster took an arrow from his quiver and aimed at the only card in Kaniq's magic and trap zone.

"I'll activate that card. Dust Tornado. And since your Spirit of the Six Samurai is acting as a spell card, I can use my trap to destroy it." A small tornado was formed and blew away the incoming arrow, as well as Nisashi's newer armor, weakening him at the same time. (1900-1400)

"Fine then, but he can still destroy your other ninja." The blue clad warrior was promptly struck down by a double bladed strike. "I'll throw this down and turn things over to you."

"At last. I play Pot of Greed. And as you should know, I get to draw two more cards. Then I'll play a monster face-down and activate Book of Taiyou. This automatically takes a face-down monster and forces it into attack mode." The concealed card flipped up and revealed yet another ninja. This one wearing mostly blue, with a helmet hiding all but his eyes and holding a pole with a sickle at the end. (300) "Thanks to Armed Ninja's effect, I can automatically destroy one of your spell cards." The new ninja dashed at Jeremy and destroyed his equip card with his weapon. "Now I play Monster Reborn, to bring back Ninja Master Shogun."

"Oh no you don't. I reveal my face-down, Transmigration Prophecy. With this, I pick a total of two cards from your graveyard, mine, or both. Then they're returned the owner's deck. And I pick the monster you were about to summon and my Spirit of the Six Samurai."

"Whatever, like it matters. Strike Ninja, use your Stealth Slash Attack on his Six Samurai Nisashi." The black ninja rushed forward and swung one of its daggers at its opponent, making a mark in his armor before he was destroyed.

Jeremy: 3300-3000

"I end my turn."

"I activate my own Pot of Greed. I'm pretty sure you can remember what it does. Anyway, now I summon the Six Samurai Yariza." The dark armored samurai appeared beside the other. Its spear hooked to its side with a cable and held in one hand. (1000) "Then I'll throw Allied Forces in the mix. So my two guys gain 400 attack points." (1000-1400) (1300-1700) "Yaichi, take out his Armed Ninja with Rapid Arrow." The bow wielding warrior nocked and released an arrow that hit the ninja in question right in the chest.

Kaniq: 4000-2600

"I should tell you, seeing as he's not alone on the field, Yariza's allowed to attack you directly. Blazing Spear." Jeremy's monster jumped up and launched his weapon at Kaniq.

Kaniq: 2600-1200

"I'll end my turn by playing Shien's Castle of Mist." The Dark Japanese style rose behind Jeremy.

"I summon Ninja Ugashi." A teenage boy wearing a light green tunic and pants appeared opposite the two armored warriors. He had a dark mask tied around his head to cover his eyes, his brown hair was cut short and he held a short spear in both hands. (1600) "Strike Ninja, attack The Six Samurai Yariza." The black and gold man took one of his daggers and threw it at the named samurai. It simply pinged off his armor without making a scratch.

"There's a reason that I played my castle. As long as it's out, any monster attacking a six samurai loses 500 attack points." The Strike Ninja received a spear in his gut as the monster attacked replied.

Kaniq: 1200-1000

Kaniq chucked despite the loss of his monster and life-points. "You're so predictable. You see, Ninja Ugashi has a pretty special ability. When another ninja I control is destroyed in battle, one time only, I can increase his attack points by 100 for each of the destroyed monster's levels." (1600-2000) "Now let's try this again, shall we? Avenge your comrade and destroy his samurai." The teenager dashed forward and clashed his own spear with Yariza's, though he overcame him shortly despite his diminished points.

Jeremy: 3000-2900

"But wait Jeremy, that's not all. Thanks to his special ability, whenever Ugashi does damage to you, I get to draw one card. Now I'll activate my own field spell, Ninja's Secret Ambush." Jeremy's castle crumbled as dozens of shadowy figures appeared in the woods surrounding them. "If I play this when you have a field spell in play, I'm automatically allowed to destroy another of your spells or traps. So say goodbye to Allied Forces." (1700-1300) "One card face-down and it's your move."

"Here goes. I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode." The elven warrior stood tall before Jeremy. (1400) "Next I'll play one card face-down and equip my guardian with Mage Power. So for each of my spells and traps, he gets 500 attack and defense points stronger." (1400-2400/1200-2200) "Now attack, with Silver Blade Strike."

"First, I reveal my trap, Enchanted Javelin. Now I gain life-points equal to your monster's attack points."

Kaniq: 1000-3400

"Then my field card takes away 500 of his attack strength." The ninja stopped the charging elf's sword with his spear and then kicked him back to his own side of the field.

Jeremy: 2900-2800

"Well at least my guardian stay on the field since he can't be destroyed by a monster with 1900 attack points or more."

"Regardless of that, I still get to draw another card thanks to Ugashi's effect."

"I'll just switch Yaichi to defense mode and that's all."

"My turn. And I summon Ninja Kisari." A girl that seemed about the same age as the already present ninja appeared on the field. She wore a dark brown outfit, had her black hair tied into a ponytail, her face painted white and a katana at her hip. (1900) "Then I play Offerings to the Doomed. And by simply skipping my next draw phase, I get to destroy one of your monsters. I'm sure you're smart enough to guess which one." Jeremy's guardian exploded in a shower of pixels. "Kisari, destroy his last monster." The female ninja dashed forward and eliminated the kneeling warrior. "Ugashi, attack him directly." The samurai duelist managed to block the incoming spear with his duel disk, though not without taking severe damage.

Jeremy: 2800-800

"I end my turn," Kaniq declared simply.

"I activate the spell, Card of Sanctity. So we both get to draw until we had six cards. Then I'll set two of those face-down and let you go."

"I may not be able to draw because of Offerings to the Doomed, but it's not like I need to. Because I'm attacking you with both my ninjas." The two Japanese warriors advanced, intent on delivering the final blow.

"First, I send Shadow of the Six Samurai to the graveyard to reduce all my damage to zero this turn." A shadow in the shape of a samurai appeared in front of Jeremy and repelled the incoming monsters. "And while I'm at it, I'll go ahead and activate Paths of Destiny. Now we flip a coin and gain 2000 life-points for heads, but lose them for tails." The two students flipped their own coins, Jeremy obtaining tails and Kaniq heads. "Even though I just got tails, Shadow of the Six Samurai negates my damage."

"And I have heads. Thanks for the extra life-points."

"There's no need to. Because I'm activating my face-down Bad Reaction to Simochi. So instead of gaining 2000 life-points, you lose em."

Kaniq: 3400-1400

"I'll just end my turn with one face-down."

'Nice!' Jeremy thought to himself. 'With this combo I can finally beat this guy.' "I'll start by activating Monster Reborn, to resurrect The Six Samurai Nisashi." Jeremy's dual sword wielding monster appeared in front of him. (1400) "Then I also summon The Six Samurai Irou." The shadowy samurai stood next to its colleague. (1700) "And I'll equip Nisashi with United we Stand. Giving him an additional 1600 attack and defense points, since I have two face-up monsters." (1400-3000/700-2300) "Remember what you said about my samurais not being worth anything? Well how's this then? Nisashi, wipe out his ninjas." The now strongest monster charged at his enemies, ignoring the shurikens hurled at him from the shadows. He swung one sword across the boys' midsection. The girl attempted to run away, but he threw his other sword, catching her in the back.

Kaniq: 1400-300

"You fell right into my trap."

"Huh? What're you talking about?"

"By destroying both my monsters, you allowed me to activate this, Rage of the Fallen Ninjas. During my opponent's battle phase when two ninja's with the same attribute I control are destroyed in battle, I can summon my toughest monster from my deck. Infernal Ninja General." A pillar of fire erupted from the ground in front of Kaniq. When it died down, there was a new monster on the field. It was a tall man wearing a mask, a ninja outfit and light armor, all of which were a fiery red color. His face carried a harsh expression, demonstrated further by the angry look in his red eyes. To top it off, he held a long sword in one hand that was literally on fire. (2800)

"Whoa!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"And now for the fun part. Because he was summoned by Rage of the Fallen Ninjas, my monster automatically destroys every single card you have out in play." The powerful ninja swung his sword, from which came a wide arc of fire that burned away all of Jeremy's cards. "The down side is that I can't declare an attack next turn. Plus I have to send the rest of my hand to the grave."

'At least I'll have that long to find another way to win,' Jeremy thought. "I end my turn."

"I summon Ninja Soldier Katana." A man wearing a black ninja uniform with only his eyes showing and a katana on his back stood up next to its fiery counterpart. (400) "But like I said, I can't attack. But I can still activate my Infernal General's ability. By sacrificing a ninja apart from himself, he deals 500 points of damage to you." The new monster disappeared, at which the fire monster breathed flames at his master's opponent.

Jeremy: 800-300

"I'll just wait to finish you off next turn."

Jeremy's spirit partner appeared on his shoulder as he prepared himself for the draw that could likely decide the fate of the duel. 'Hey buddy! Good to have you around,' he thought to the monkey spirit.

'_It's good to be around. Jeremy, know that the heart of a samurai resides within you. It holds power inside that can help you overcome any obstacle, whatever it may be._'

'The heart of a samurai?' Jeremy pondered to himself. 'That sounds… good. Thanks buddy!'

'_No problem. Now go on and show this ninja what you can do_!' The spirit faded away as Jeremy drew his card.

"Ok then, I activate Card Destruction. Now normally we'd each send our whole hands to the graveyard and draw the same number of cards we had from our decks, but you don't have any. So I'll just trade in my last card." 'Come on deck, show me some love.' "Yes!" he exclaimed as he drew again.

"For your sake, I hope you got something good," Kaniq said tauntingly.

"You bet I did. Specter of the Six Samurai." The pearly white ghost of a samurai materialized on the field. (1200) "When he's normal summoned, I get to draw cards equal to the number of Six Samurai monsters in my graveyard, which translates into five. Now normally if he was still on my field at the end of my turn, I'd lose 100 life-points for each card drawn by his effect. But before that happens, I'll summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." The old, one-eyed, battle hardened warrior appeared beside the specter. (2100) "And then I activate Six Scrolls of the Samurai, sacrificing both my monsters to summon Great Shogun Shien." His two warriors disappeared and were replaced by Jeremy's ace card. (2500) "I'll throw this down and end my turn."

"He may be your best monster, but mine's even better. How about I prove it to you? Infernal Ninja General attack." The fiery ninja dashed forward, its sword blazing. Jeremy had a small smile on his face as he saw him approach.

"I reveal Spell Textbook. With this, I get rid of all the cards in my hand and draw one from my deck. If it's a magic card, I can play it."

"So, you're depending on luck then?"

"I only depend on luck some times. The rest, I make my own. You see, one of the cards in my hand is Sword of Deep Seated. And when it's sent to the graveyard, it goes right to the top of my deck. And because of Spell Textbook..." Jeremy's Shogun's sword morphed into a wide purple blade, granting him more power. (2500-3000) "And since your field spell only works when your ninjas are attacked, Infernal General is history." The two fire monsters swung their swords at each other. The shogun's cutting through the ninja's and destroying him.

Kaniq: 300-100

"No way! I've got nothing left to defend myself now!"

"Then that means that it's game over. Great Shogun Shien, show him what it means to be a samurai." The powerful warlord charged Kaniq and swung his sword at him. Hitting him hard enough to knock him flat on his back.

Kaniq: 100-0

"Now that's how you duel!"

"Lucky punk," Kaniq muttered under his breath.

"Lucky? Sure, I may use luck sometimes, but I've got skills as well. And you have some pretty good ones too." The ninja duelist grudgingly pressed two fingers against his temple and gave Jeremy a little salute, before disappearing into the darkness. "Ah well, at least that duel was fun. Wonder how the others are doing?"

* * *

Jaden, Syrus and Chumley ran past the blue clad ninja and continued chasing after the Duel Giant. Not too long after, they came into a bit of a clearing where they saw a giant figure with many Obelisk Blue blazers covering him. "Hold it!" Jaden shouted. "Caught ya big guy. Not so fast on your feet are you?"

"Uhh, you know what Jaden?" Syrus and Chumley stepped back as the person turned around to face them. "I don't think he really needs to be. Just look at the size of him. I mean, who in their right mind chases after a guy like this?"

"The same person who's gonna duel him! Time to throw down!"

"Huh?"

"Wadda you say we start this duel, big guy?" Jaden's deck shone brightly and Winged Kuriboh's spirit floated next to him.

"_Coo!_"

"All right, if you say so. I guess we're in this one together now." The winged monster cooed in agreement and faded away. "Since you only duel with an ante, I'll put this card up." He held the card of his duel spirit.

"So be it, duelist," the giant agreed. They shuffled their decks, placed them in their disks, started them up and drew their cards.

Giant: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"Get your game on!"

"If you insist. I summon Giant Orc in attack mode." A muscular orc as big as the Duel Giant with a large bone club in its hand appeared in front of him. (2200)

"First move, first mistake," Jaden said.

"What mistake?" Syrus asked.

"When Giant Orc attacks, he switches to defense mode. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that all he has are attack points."

"Make your move duelist," the giant said.

"With pleasure." Jaden drew his card which turned out to be Winged Kuriboh.

"_Coo!_"

"You're telling me you want to come out and play? Sounds good. I summon Winged Kuribohin defense mode." The brown furred monster appeared opposite the large fiend. (200) "Your turn big guy."

"And it will be one you'll remember. I summon Goblin Black Ops." A bunch of six or seven green goblins dressed in black ninja suits with different weapons appeared beside their taller counterpart. (1300)

"And I thought Jeremy was the one dueling against ninjas," Chumley commented.

"Now with Black Ops' effect, they can attack you directly." The ninja goblins passed by Jaden's monster and all struck him with their weapons.

Jaden: 4000-2700

"Now Giant Orc attacks Winged Kuriboh. Bone Basher." The massive fiend raised his bone club and brought it down on the furry monster that closed its eyes as it braced itself before the hit.

"Well now both your monsters switch to defense. Now that either of them have any." The black garbed goblins and the large orc all kneeled down. (0) x2

"Not that they need any. I play Goblin Replacement. Now I can sacrifice one goblin monster to summon another from my hand with equal or less attack points. So I'll give up Goblin Black Ops for Second Goblin." The ninja creatures disappeared and the Duel Giant placed the monster card in one of his spell and trap card zones.

"Wait! That's a monster but he's playing it as a spell," Syrus noted.

"That's because once per turn I can treat it as a spell card. A spell with the power my orc from defense, to offense." The large fiend stood up as a small pinkish goblin with an eye patch appeared in its shoulder. (2200)

"To offense!" Syrus said.

"What's offensive is his face," Chumley commented.

"Yeah, can't you wrap a couple of blazers around him?" Jaden asked. "Well, if you're not doing anything about it, then I guess I will. I play Polymerization. And use it to fuse together Elemental Hero Clayman and Burstinatrix. Now let's all welcome, the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster, in defense mode." The newly created monster kneeled down with her shield in front of her. (2500) "But that doesn't mean your safe from harm. Because her special ability can hit you directly with half her attack points." The defending hero shot out a few rockets from her right arm.

Giant: 4000-3000

The blast from the projectiles caused the Duel Giant's blazers to be blown back, revealing the big Ra they'd seen earlier. "It's Beauregard," Syrus realized.

"I though he couldn't duel," Chumley said.

"What should I do?" he spoke into an earpiece.

"You can stop the charade to start. How about the real Duel Giant comes out now?"

Brier climbed over the rock behind his friend, also wearing a headset. "How did you know it was me?"

"Well, back at the arena, I felt how mad you were at those Obelisks. Then I saw your friend, it just came together," Jaden explained.

"But I lost that duel. What made you think I could beat all those Obelisks?"

"Because I was told you were a great duelist, but your only problem was that you had stage fright. Which cleared up why the Duel Giant only came out at night. And used a radio transmitter."

"Well I guess it's over now," Syrus said. "Just give back the cards and…"

"Wadda you men over!" Brier yelled. "Nothing's over! I won't just go home and be little Brier anymore. Everyone makes fun of me. They say I'm small, a shrimp. I'm tired of them always laughing at me. Don't you see? That's why I get nervous and can't concentrate. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. Then I met Beauregard. They teased him too, so we decided to make all them all pay!"

A flashback of the moment when the idea of the Duel Giant had emerged came to Brier's mind. Him and Beauregard were in a dimly light room while putting together a bunch of card to make a deck. "And we'll play with the ante rule. So if they lose, we'll take their best card."

"But what if we get caught?" Beauregard worried.

"You let me handle that."

Brier's mind returned to the present as the flashback finished. "So that's why you put on the costume," Syrus realized. "To avoid getting caught for breaking the rules."

"That's right!"

"Well, what now? Your secret's out and pretty soon everybody'll know who you are, including Dr. Crowler. That is, unless you and I continue this duel. Out in the open."

"What? Well, since you aren't giving me any choice… Let's do this!"

Brier/Beauregard: 3000

Jaden: 2700

"That's the spirit! I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

Beauregard nodded to his friend and drew his next card. "I summon Goblin King in attack mode." A smaller green goblin with a tiny crown and wearing a long red robe appeared. (0)

"Zero attack points?"

"Not for long. Because by sending a warrior from my hand to the graveyard, I get to summon a Half-Goblin." Beauregard discarded one warrior and placed a monster in defense mode. Another green goblin appeared between the orc and king, this one with a leather chest plate and a small knife in his hand. "And thanks to Goblin King's special ability, he gains 1000 attack and defense points for every fiend type monster on my field other than himself. And there are two." The monster in question cried out he it grew within its robes. (0-2000/0-2000) "Then I equip him with Axe of Despair, giving him another 1000 attack points. The already powerful monster gripped the sinister red glowing axe. (2000-3000)

"3000 attack points!" Chumley said in astonishment.

"This isn't good!"

"Goblin King, attack Rampart Blaster." The powerhouse fiend pulled back its arm and slammed the hero with his fist.

"I activate my trap," Jaden announced. "Hero Signal." A ray of light emerged from the trap card, with an 'H' at the end. "When one of my monsters is destroyed in battle, this let's me summon a level four or below elemental hero from my hand or deck. And I choose Elemental Hero Bubbleman." Jaden's water hero kneeled down with his arm crossed in front of him. (1200) "And because he's the only card on my field, I get to draw two more."

"Fine with me. Giant Orc, pop his Bubbleman." The named fiend bashed the defending hero with his bone club. Then it went down on one knee, but was brought back to its feet by the Second Goblin. "And in case you forgot, your Winged Kuriboh's still up for grabs."

"If you want my kuriboh, then you'll have to earn him. And I'm not gonna go easy on you just because of your size, I'll be giving you my very best. You want an example? Then how about this? First I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode." The golden armored hero appeared in a flash of electricity. (1600) "Next I equip him with Spark Blaster." The handheld weapon materialized in its owner's hand. "To explain how it works, it has three shots, each of which changes the battle mode of a monster." Sparkman fired his weapon at the Half-Goblin which stood up and the Giant Orc that kneeled down. (500)

"Lishus! now Jaden can destroy one of Brier's fiends and lower Goblin King's attack points."

"So what? Second Goblin takes the hit for Giant Orc, so you can only destroy my Half-Goblin," Brier pointed out.

"But I'm not done yet. I bring Clayman back to my hand with the Warrior Returning Alive. And play Polymerization to combine my two monsters to create, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." Both heroes swirled about each other to form the giant who let out a deep voiced cry as he appeared. (2400) "And he's a real giant. Cause when he's summoned, he can destroy any monster whose original attack points are lower than his. And your Second Goblin's effect only works against battle, so Giant Orc's history." Thunder Giant shot a blast of electricity from his hand that vaporized the large fiend. "And I still have his attack to use on the Half-Goblin." Jaden's monster disposed of the smaller goblin with another blast of electricity.

Brier/Beauregard: 3000-1100

"So what? I still have life-points left!"

"But without your other fiends, Goblin King loses points." (3000-1000) "Then I activate De-Fusion, which splits Thunder Giant back into Sparkman and Clayman." The towering hero separated into the two fusion material monsters. (1600) (800) "This means each of them can attack. Go Sparkman." The electric hero shot a stream of power from the palm of his hand at the armed goblin.

Brier/Beauregard: 1100-500

"Now it's Clayman's turn." The stone warrior charged the Ra students and met them with a shoulder slide, knocking both of them down in addition to depleting them of points.

Brier/Beauregard: 500-0

"You did it Jaden!" Syrus congratulated.

"Jaden the giant-slayer," Chumley added.

"He beat us," Brier said dejectedly. "We're through."

"No, not we. Please, just turn me in, forget Brier," Beauregard pleaded.

"Beauregard?"

"I've always been alone and I'm not gonna let them expel you for being my friend. After all, didn't we allways promise to stand up for each other? You're the best duelist I've ever seen. I won't let them kick you out of here."

"But what about you? Your dream of being a game designer?"

"Not all dreams come true." He gave him a smile.

"Hold on a minute!" Jaden interrupted. "We're not turning either of you two in. I know what it's like to have people make fun of you. Everyone get's that sometimes. So don't worry about it. I just said I'd turn you in so that you'd come out. You know? Duel me in the open, and realized that you could. You should be proud of yourself."

"I guess you're right Jaden," Brier admitted. "I did play well, and in front of people too. Maybe I can do it again."

"Of course you can. I just hope it's not against me." Brier laughed a little at this. "Now get out of here before Dr. Crowler catches us." The two Ras waved goodbye and ran off.

"You know Jaden, there's a problem with this," he looked at his smaller friend. "Because we let him go, were gonna have to start doing homework again." Jaden moaned. "Including the stuff we didn't do while looking for this guy." The four of them eventually met up with Jeremy and they all exchanged the details of what had happened at their own ends. The blond Slifer was no happier at the idea of extra homework then Jaden was.

* * *

The next morning, Jaden, Syrus and Jeremy found themselves sitting down with a tremendous amount of paper near them, courtesy of Dr. Crowler. They were filling them out as fast as they could in an effort to catch up on their work. "Let me get this straight. You found the Duel Giant, beat him, and then he was able to escape!"

"Yep, that's what happened teach. Last I saw, he was headed up a beanstalk or something."

"We actually ran into some Obelisk ninja guy named Kaniq who wanted to duel me," Jeremy added. "I had to stay behind while Jaden was taking on the Duel Giant. I didn't manage to beat him fast enough to go see the other duel though."

Crowler's mouth almost dropped wide open at the mention that Jeremy had beaten one of his dorm's very best. "And you're saying that you didn't duel using the illegal ante rule, but all the other Obelisks did?" he asked, trying to get over his shock at the same time.

"They did?" Jaden managed to sounds surprised. "I heard they all just kinda lost their cards, temporarily."

"So first you find the Duel Giant, then he escapes. First all those cards were lost, now they're found."

"First we have no homework, and now-"

"Keep writing!"

* * *

At the same time, Brier and Beauregard were hanging around the academy's front entrance while listening to a bunch of Obelisks talking amongst themselves. "Yeah, I found my rare card this morning too."

"Mine just turned up in my deck."

"My baby, I missed you so much."

The two Ras looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

Thanks for reading and if you have anything to say, comments, suggestions, whatever, then don't hesitate to review.

Cards made up by me

**Ninja Haguro**  
Lv: 3  
Attr: Dark  
Type: Warrior  
Atk/Def: 500/500  
Effect: If this card is in face-up defense mode during your main phase, you can summon another 'Ninja Haguro' from your deck. You cannot activate this card's effect on the turn it is summoned by the effect of 'Ninja Haguro'.  
Image: A short man wearing a dark blue ninja outfit showing only his hands and face. His face is painted white and he carries two short daggers on each side of his belt.

**Ninja Ugashi**  
Lv: 4  
Attr: Dark  
Type: Warrior  
Atk/Def: 1600/700  
Efect: When a 'ninja' monster you control is destroyed in battle, increase this card's attack by 100 for every level of the destroyed monster once only. When this card inflicts damage to your opponent's life-points, draw one card from your deck.  
Image: A teenage boy wearing a light green tunic and pants. He has a dark mask tied around his head to cover his eyes, his brown hair is cut short and he hold a short spear with both hands.

**Ninja's Secret Ambush**  
Field Spell  
Effect: If you play this card while your opponent has a field spell in play, you can destroy another spell of trap they control. When a 'ninja' monster is attacked, the attacking monster loses 500 attack points during damage calculation.  
Image: The middle of a forest when it's really dark. The outlines of several people can be seen around the trees.

**Ninja Kisari**  
Lv: 4  
Attr: Dark  
Type: Warrior  
Atk/Def: 1900/1500  
Normal monster  
Image: A teenage girl wearing a dark brown outfit, her black hair tied into a ponytail, her face painted white and a katana at her hip.

**Rage of the Fallen Ninjas**  
Normal Trap  
Effect: Activate only during your opponent's battle phase when two 'ninja' monsters with the same attribute you control are destroyed in battle. Summon 'Infernal Ninja General' from your deck. Discard your entire hand afterwards.  
Image: Infernal Ninja General standing in the middle of a raging fire.

**Infernal Ninja General**  
Lv: 8  
Attr: Fire  
Type: Warrior  
Atk/Def: 2800/2300  
Effect: When this monster is summoned by the effect of 'Rage of the Fallen Ninjas', destroy all cards on your opponent's field and you cannot declare an attack during your next turn. You can sacrifice one other 'ninja' monster you control to deal 500 damage to your opponent.  
Image: A tall man wearing a helmet, a ninja outfit and light armor, all of which are a fiery red color. His face has a harsh expression and he has an angry look in his red eyes. He holds a long sword in one hand that's on fire.

**Specter of the Six Samurai  
**Specter of the Six Samurai  
Atk/Def: 1200/400  
Attr: Light  
Type: Warrior  
Lv: 3  
Effect: When this card is normal summoned, draw one card for every 'Six Samurai' monster in your graveyard. If this card is face-up on your field during your end phase, you lose 100 life-points for every card drawn by this effect.  
Image: The white ghost of a samurai.

**Goblin Replacement  
**Normal Spell  
Effect: Tribute one 'Goblin' monster you control and summon another one from your hand with equal or less attack points.  
Image: A Second Goblin chasing away a Goblin Attack Force.

**Next Chapter**: The Eggwiches are being stolen! What'll happen?


	22. Attack of the Drawing Maniac

Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff, except for the my oc's and some of their cards.

I finally came around to updating on this fic. Had a bit of trouble thinking up ways to throw in another duel, but it all worked out in the end. Enjoy!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Attack of the Drawing Maniac**

Having finished with their classes for the day, Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus found themselves running through the halls towards the card shop. "Jaden, can't you go any slower?" Syrus moaned.

"Can't, not on sandwich day!" Jaden replied.

As they were passing by the main dueling arena, Jeremy happened to see Erik standing opposite four other Obelisks who hardly seemed like they were very friendly at the moment. Attracted by the potential duel, Jeremy chose to veer off. "Hey Jay, go on ahead, I just saw something interesting."

"Ok then, later man!" Jaden called back as he continued running.

The blond Slifer made his way into the arena and leaned against the wall in the entrance to watch the scene unfold. "You know," one of the Obelisks said. "I'm starting to wonder if Smithson here even belongs in the Blue Dorm."

"I agree. Especially after he's lost twice to some lousy Slifer."

"It's a wonder he's even got this far."

"He'd never be able to beat anyone of us."

"Ah yes. The fearsome four, Charles, Brock, Gordon and Jason. You must think you're actually intimidating," Erik said sarcastically. "You think I can't beat any of you? Well how about this? I'll take on all four of you right now."

Charles laughed at his confidence. "You'll regret that soon."

"Then let's get on with the duel." Erik and the five other Obelisks started their disks and drew their starting hands, while Jeremy looked on with interest.

Charles: 4000

Brock: 4000

Gordon: 4000

Jason: 4000

Erik: 4000

"I'll start things off," Charles announced. "I summon Command Knight in attack mode." A woman wearing armor appeared in front of him. Her armor was mostly red, she wore a helm of the same color, a cloak around her back and a sword with a golden hilt at her waist. (1200) "Now thanks to her effect, all warrior monsters gain 400 attack points." (1200-1600) "I'll finish up with a face-down."

"I play another Command Knight." A second monster like the first appeared on Brock's field. (1200) "And again there's 400 more attack points for all our warriors." (1200-2000) (1600-2000) "I'll finish up with a face-down of my own."

"I summon a third Command Knight," Gordon announced as he placed the named card on his disk. (1200) "And you know what that means." (1200-2400) (2000-2400) x2 "I'll hide this face-down and that's all."

"I place a fourth Command Knight on the field." Another copy of the same warrior appeared again. (1200) "Now their points all go up to 2800." (1200-2800) (2400-2800) x3 "Then I play this little number face-down and let you go."

"Finally, took you guys long enough. I start off with Graceful Charity. So I draw three cards and ditch two. Then I activate Battery Charger and give up 500 life-points to summon a Batteryman monster from my grave."

Erik: 4000-3500

The short orange battery with limbs and a head materialized before Erik in a shower of sparks. (0)

"Not so fast," Charles interrupted. "I activate Chain Disappearance. Since you just summoned a monster with no more than a thousand attack points, this removes it from play, along with all the other ones with the same name that are in your hand and deck." A pitch black chain shot out from the trap card and struck Erik's Batteryman, as well as two cards in his hand.

"Ouch," Jeremy muttered to himself.

Erik hardly seemed put off by what had happened. "Did you really think it would be that easy? Unfortunately for you, it isn't. Because I happen to have a back up plan. I play Dimension Fusion, paying 2000 life-points so all monsters removed from play come back."

Erik: 3500-1500

Three holes appeared in the air, from which emerged the three orange battery monsters. (0) x3 "And because there's three of them, they all gain 3000 attack points." Electricity coursed through the thunder monsters as they were empowered. (0-3000) x3 "Then I activate the spell Batteryman Copycat. This summons a Batteryman token." A plain gray and black battery appeared on Erik's field. (0)

"Pah! That thing doesn't have any attack points," Brock laughed.

"But like my other Batterymen, it has a pretty cool trick. Its name and effect becomes the exact same as any batteryman monster on my field. And since I've only got one sort…" The token monster morphed into an exact replica of the other three monsters. "And with another Batteryman AA, their attack points all increase to 4000." (0-4000) (3000-4000) x3

"You still can't attack. So long as there's another monster on the field, Command Knight is off limits," Jason pointed out.

"But they aren't immune to spell cards. Like this one, Short Circuit. When I have at least three Batterymen on the field, all the cards on yours' get vaporized." The four of Erik's monsters pooled electricity together and shot it out at the opposing field, wiping it clean. "Now, batterymen, shock em." The batteries sent out another blast of electricity which struck the four Obelisks simultaneously.

Charles: 4000-0

Brock: 4000-0

Gordon: 4000-0

Jason: 4000-0

"Maybe next time you'll think twice about making dumb comments about me," Erik said to his fallen opponents, before turning his back on them and making his way out of the arena.

"Wicked duel!" Jeremy said as Erik passed by. "Short, but sweet."

"Thanks," he replied simply.

"I'm off to the card shop for eggwich day. Wanna come?"

Erik had a pensive expression on his face while he decided. "I guess it can't hurt. But I'm not taking the chance of picking something gross."

"Fine with me." The two of them went on to join up with Jaden and Syrus at the card shop. When they arrived, there was a crowd of students, mostly Ras and Slifers who were standing around a large bin of packaged sandwiches. Jaden was on his knees, having bitten into one of the not so good choices. "Hi Jayman."

Jaden got up as he heard his friend. "Hey Jeremy. Hi Erik. What're you doing in these parts?"

Erik simply greeted Jaden with a nod while Jeremy answered his question. "I just saw him and four other Obelisks in the arena. He took on them all at once. They had this lock down combo, but he just swarmed with his batterymen and beat them in one turn. It was like, boom!" The Obelisk boy rolled his eyes at Jeremy's exited behavior.

"Too bad I missed that."

"So, what'd catch this time?" he asked, referring to the bitten sandwich that Jaden held in his hand.

"Grilled tongue," he answered depressed.

"Better a bad draw here than in a duel." The four boys turned in the direction of the voice and saw Alexis holding two sandwiches that they could assume weren't the eggwich.

"Oh I see. You took the eggwich just to have lunch with me, huh?" Jaden said.

"I did no such thing!" she replied, though with a blush on her cheeks. "I was just practicing my draws."

"Sure you were," Jaden continued in a teasing voice.

"Yeah, I was!"

"She didn't draw the eggwich," Christine said as she came up to them. "I can vouch for her."

"Hey Christine," Jeremy greeted her. "Does that mean you got it?"

"Actually, from what Dorothy's told me, no one's been able to draw the eggwich for the past five weeks. At least, no one from around here."

"Then that must mean that someone's been stealing them at night," Jeremy realized.

"Really?" Alexis asked.

"Whoa! This thief must be really good to get the right one week after week," Syrus commented. Jaden frowned in anger, scaring Syrus a little.

"It's true, unfortunately. None of the other sandwiches were opened."

"That's it," Jaden said. "We've got to do something about this eggwich thief."

"Hold on a second," Syrus spoke up. "We?"

"Yep! We're all going on a sandwich stakeout, 24/7. We'll catch this thief when he comes for the golden eggwich."

"Allright then. We'd better let Dorothy know about this first," Christine said.

"Hey Erik. Wanna join in?" Jeremy asked.

"Sure. Not like I've got anything better to do."

"Then we're on!" Jaden said. "Look out eggwich thief!"

* * *

Later that night, the Slifer crew, along with Alexis, Christine, Erik and Dorothy were hanging out in her office at the card shop. Jeremy and Chumley were watching as Jaden and Syrus played a regular card game. Alexis and Christine were reading for their homework and Erik was also reading, but not for homework.

"High card!" Jaden said as he picked one out of Syrus' hand and put in on the table.

"Nice one Jay!" Jeremy commented.

"Picking cards, drawing cards, amazing!" Syrus said.

"Why thank you," Jaden replied.

"So, you think when this sandwich thief shows up that he'll have anything on him?" Chumley asked.

"Chumley, this guy steals eggwiches, not grilled cheese," Jaden explained. "Would you tell him, Alexis?"

"It's true Chumley," she said, momentarily taking her eyes off her book to answer.

"Hey, what's Lex doing over there anyway?"

"I think it's homework," Syrus guessed.

"Ever heard of it?" Erik asked, while not straying from his book.

"Uhh, yeah," Jaden said.

'What I'm doing is waiting for this thief to come. He may yet have something to do with my brother, and all the others,' she thought.

"Who wants some stakeout snacks?" Dorothy said as she came into her office with a plate of pastries.

"Is it grilled cheese?"

"Hey Chumley, there's more to life than grilled cheese," Christine pointed out.

"What're those anyway?" Jeremy inquired.

"They're my special stuffed pastries. There's strawberry, chocolate and lemon custard."

"Thanks Miss Dorothy," Syrus spoke up.

"Now, which one of these is chocolate?" Jeremy wondered as he looked them over.

"It's right…"

"Just a sec," Jaden interrupted. "We should draw, and pick the ones we want. I'm going for strawberry."

"So you wanna draw pastries like cards?" Chumley asked.

"Good idea," Syrus said.

"Works for me," Jeremy added.

"Let's see here…" Jaden grabbed one of the pastries and took a bite out of it. "Strawberry!"

"And on your first try too Jaden," Syrus said. "Way to go."

"It's good to know I still got it. You know, for when we get that eggwich back. I can lmost taste it already."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, hero kid." Erik grabbed one and held it up for a second before passing it to Jeremy. "Here's your chocolate."

He took a bite out of it, revealing that Erik was right. "How did you know that?" He simply replied by tapping the side of his nose with his finger. They then heard a sounds coming from outside the card shop.

"It's the eggwich thief," Christine whispered. "Let's hide."

They turned off the lights and all hid in different places around the office. They moved to see through the glass door when they heard the sliding door being lifted up. "He's an animal,"  
Syrus commented as they watched him pull up the door easily and crawl underneath. They saw the figure walk over to the sandwich bin, plunge his arm and pull one out with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Now!" Jaden said. They opened the door and turned on the lights, surprising the thief who turned out to be a muscular boy with long black hair and only wearing a pair of beaten up khaki shorts. "Stop you thief!"

"Put the eggwich down," Syrus tried to sound brave.

Dorothy gasped in surprise and Erik had an expression of recognition on his face. The thief let out a Tarzan yell and broke through the door with the sandwich bin. "This guy's fast," Jaden commented. "After him."

'This guy's definitely got something to hide,' Alexis thought as they ran after him. 'We can't let him get away.'

'I was wondering what happened to him,' Erik wondered.

They chased him atop the academy's main building, until he jumped off the edge and into the trees, swinging on vines. "Finally, we can stop running," Chumley said.

"No we can't. We need to keep after him if we want to get that eggwich back," Jaden pointed out.

They continued their pursuit, until the point when the thief almost ran into them and started to climb up a waterfall to get away. "DAMON!" The Tarzan look alike stopped climbing and looked back to see that Erik and Dorothy had called out to him.

"Uhh, you two know this guy?" Jaden asked.

"Take your time to answer. I need to catch my breath," Chumley said.

"Yeah, I know him," Erik said.

"And he knows better than stealing," Dorothy added. Damon then lost his grip and fell into the water below. "My, you've changed," she said when he emerged.

"I change, I change for better."

"It sure isn't your grammar that's improved." He sniffed the air a bit. "Or your smell."

"How do you two know him?" Jaden asked.

"School, where else? As surprising as it may seem now, he was an Obelisk Blue last year," Erik explained.

"They sure had a chill dress code back then," Jeremy commented.

"No, he was different back then," Dorothy filled in. "But one day he just vanished. He was one of my favorites. He always used to visit me at the card shack. Especially on sandwich days. He loved trying to pick a good sandwich. Shame he was so bad at it."

"Are you sure about this guy?" Jaden asked. "He's always picking the right one. Is he really the same person?"

Damon laughed as he climbed out of the water. "Not same person, I new person now. I live in nature. I hone my skills."

"Why'd you leave in the first place?" Christine inquired.

"When I Obelisk, I test good. But when come to duel, Damon have problem. My draw ruin me every time. So I decide I need improve. I do everything I think of, but it don't work. I watch waves back and forth, back and forth. Then, hit me!"

"You want me to hit you?" Jaden asked, confused.

"No! It hit me!" Damon corrected. "Just like I know what come next in wave, see I can know what come next in cards. Must simply be in tune with nature."

"I'm starting to think this guy can't help me find my brother," Alexis whispered to her friend.

"From the smell of him, I doubt he can even find a bar of soap," Christine replied in a hushed tone.

"That why I live out here," Damon continued. "To train, to learn, to be one with nature, to be one with draw. I get very good, but only one way for I to be sure. Ultimate test, I draw eggwiches every week. That why I take them. Not because I thief," he said as he started to cry.

"You've got to be kidding me," Erik commented.

"We understand," Dorothy said sympathetically.

"Well I don't," Jaden pitched in. "I don't think you're a thief anymore, but…"

"But what?"

"but I like those eggwiches as much as the next guy. So let's duel. I win, you stop swiping em. You win they're all yours."

"Fine. But I expert drawer. There no way you beat me."

"Hey, I'm no slouch."

"It's true," Syrus said.

"We can all vouch for that," Jeremy added.

"It on!" Damon then took out a duel disk from behind a rock and activated it at the same time as Jaden.

"All right, Damon. Get your game on!"

"Let's duel!"

Jaden: 4000

Damon: 4000

Both drew their starting hands and Jaden took another for his first turn. "Sweet," he said as he looked at his card. "I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode." His green feathered hero appeared on his field, ready to fight. (1000) "And I'll throw down a face-down while I'm at it. Let's see what you've got then."

"Just as trees swing too and fro, I know what will come. I begin. I play Pot of Greed to draw two. Then I put card face-down and summon Drawler, attack mode." As he let out a Tarzan like yell, a giant stone figure appeared on his field, with its arms connected to a large roll and the same for its waist down. (0)

"What's that thing?" Syrus asked.

"For one, it's not friendly," Erik filled in. "And it means trouble for Jaden."

"Now for every card in hand I return to deck, Drawler gain 500 attack and defense points. And I return all card in hand."

"But he's got five cards right now," Chumley said.

"This ain't gonna be pretty," Jeremy commented.

The stone monster growled as it powered up. (0-2500) "Drawler, attack Avian, with Stone Roll Wrecker." The monster in question bulldozed its way to Jaden's field, flattening Avian like a pancake underneath.

Jaden: 4000-2500

"What?" Jaden exclaimed as his card went to the bottom of his deck instead of the graveyard.

"When Drawler destroy attack mode monster, it no go to grave, it go to bottom of deck," Damon explained. "So you can't use for long time. My turn end."

"Nice moves," Jaden said. "Now check out the card I just drew. Polymerization. So I fuse Elemental Hero Clayman with Burstinatrix to create… Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster." The female armored hero knelt down with her shield in front. (2500)

"Defense mode?" Damon wondered.

"Yep. But by cutting her attack points in half, she can attack you directly." (2000-1000) "Rampart Barrage." The Rampart Blaster shot a series of rockets from her cannon arm which exploded at Damon's feet.

Damon: 4000-3000

"That'll do for me."

'He draw good for man who wear shirt and have haircut. But still, he no match for way of nature.'

'Well, Damon's better than last I saw him,' Erik though to himself. 'But it's unlikely he's good enough to beat Jaden.'

"He's got a weird look in his eye," Alexis commented.

"You mean weirder," Christine commented.

"I activate trap," Damon announced. "Miracle Draw! This how work. Before I make draw from deck, I say what I think it be. If I right, you lose 1000 point, I wrong, I take damage."

"He's guessing what he'll draw?" Syrus asked.

"Well, good luck with that," Jaden said.

"You think I won't guess right?"

"You might."

"No might. Snow no not might melt, it will melt. And I will guess right." Damon closed his eyes and concentrated. "Draw will be Card Loan," he said upon opening his eyes again. He took out the card and revealed that he was right."

"He's right?"

"No way."

"Too weird."

"He's good."

Erik watched on without commenting. "Now you take 1000 damage," Damon reminded Jaden.

Jaden: 2500-1500

"Next, I activate Card Loan. You regain 1000 points, and I lose 1000 points."

Jaden: 1500-2500

Damon: 3000-2000

"But I get to draw one card from deck. Then I must return card to deck at turn end."

"All of that just for a draw?" Chumley wondered.

"I like draw. I activate Drawber. Now you draw one card and I guess what is. I guess right, all cards in your hand and on your field go back to deck."

"Oh no, that'll leave Jaden wide open!" Chumley exclaimed.

"And with Drawler on the field, he can take out Jaden with one hit," Syrus pointed out.

"He'll manage, I'm sure," Jeremy remained optimistic.

"Draw is De-Fusion," Damon said after thinking about it.

"Cool! You're right again," Jaden said. "But before your cards effect settles in, I'll play my face-down, Elemental Recharge. So I gain 1000 life-points for every Elemental Hero on the field."

Jaden: 2500-3500

The E-Hero then shuffled his cards with the rest of his deck. "This is gonna hurt," Syrus piped up.

"Drawler, attack directly." The stone monster moved forward, passing through Jaden like a ghost.

Jaden: 3500-1000

"I end my turn."

"Then here's mine. I summon Wroughtweiler in defense mode." The mechanical dog lay down in front of Jaden. (1200) "And I'll leave it at that."

"Not good," Chumley commented. "With Miracle Draw still out, if Damon's guess one more card, we can say goodbye to the eggwiches for good."

"Come one Jayman," Jeremy encouraged his friend. "You can do this!"

'With Wroughtwelier in defense mode, there is only one card that can help me,' Damon thought. 'I must draw Shield Crush, to destroy monster, then Jaden. Must draw Shield Crush. Give me Shield Crush!' "Draw will be Shield Crush!" But to his surprise, it was Dian Keto the Curemaster. "Oh no!"

"He's wrong?" Jaden's friend were surprised.

Damon: 2000-1000

"No matter. Drawler, destroy Wroughtweiler." The stone creature flattened Jaden's monster like it had done to Avian.

"Thanks for the help. You've just activated Wroughtweiler's special ability. When he's destroyed in battle, I get back Burstinatrix and Polymerization."

"Fine. I play Curemaster to regain 1000 points."

Damon: 1000-2000

"I end turn. But like seasons end, I end you soon."

"Ok, that's enough Damon," Erik spoke up with a touch of annoyance in his voice. "All that nature talk, the way you act, your fake voice…"

"Fake voice? What you mean?"

"Damon, back at school we were in the same dorm and I know this isn't your normal voice. You've only spent one year out in the wild, so you can't possibly have changed that much. Get real, will you?"

"You Blue man wrong!"

"If playing was as predictable as snow melting, you'd never guess wrong," Jaden filled in. "But you did. Drawing's about using your gut, you know? Being in tune with yourself. Even then you'll never guess every draw, right? After all, you're only human. Even if you do get around by swinging on vines. That what makes drawing so much fun. You never know what you'll get. But you can always hope. Like now, I'm hoping for a certain card. Now check this, I play my own Pot of Greed. You remember that first card you destroyed with Drawler? How it went to the bottom of my deck instead of the graveyard? Since I had to shuffle my deck, guess who just came back?" He showed him his Avian.

"So Drawler will destroy it again."

"But it won't be happening this time. I activate Polymerization. Fusing Avian and Burstinatrix to bring out, the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." Jaden's heroes merged to form his headliner. (2100)

"But Jaden, Drawler has 2500 attack points, Wingman only has 2500."

"Don't sweat it Sy. Because the other card I got, was this one. Skyscraper." Skyscraper building appeared around them as Jaden played the field spell. "And since Flame Wingman has less attack points than Drawler, he get an extra thousand in battle. Go, Infernal Rage." (2100-3100) Jaden's hero shot fire from its dragon arm which hit the stone monster and shattered it to pieces.

Damon: 2000-1400

"I still standing," Damon pointed out.

"But not for long," Jeremy said.

"Yup, thanks to Flame Wingman's effect, you lose life-points equal to Drawler's attack points. Bringing you down to zero."

Damon: 1400-0

"I lose?" He then fell down his knees.

"Way to play Jay."

"Good stuff."

"Nice going."

"I can't believe I lost," Damon said, but in a different voice. "I don't understand. I trained out here for a whole year."

"Finally, you're speaking like you used to," Erik noted.

"Uhh, I uhh no get what…"

"It's all right Damon. You can be yourself again."

"You mean it? Cause I could really use a shower." They all laughed lightly at this, even Erik who chuckled a bit. "And a haircut." He started to cry at this.

"And a shirt," Dorothy added.

"Actually, I was thinking, all that vine swinging got me ripped and…"

"Damon," Dorothy said as she knelt down in front of him. "A shirt." She then hugged him as he continued to cry.

* * *

A week after Damon had returned to normal, him, Jaden and Jeremy found themselves once again in the card shack during eggwich day. "Anyone drawn the eggwich yet?" Jaden asked.

"No, not yet," Dorothy said. "Good luck."

"Yeah, better luck than I had with this haircut," Damon said as the three of them plunged their arms into the bin. Unfortunately for them, someone else had gotten it.

"I drew it! It's mine!" Alexis said, holding the sandwich in question triumphantly.

Jaden and Damon looked downtrodden at this, but the worst off was Jeremy. He'd picked out a sandwich and taken a bite before finding out that Alexis had the eggwich. Jaden chanced to notice his friend's face turning green. "Uh oh."

Jeremy dropped the sandwich he held and covered his mouth with his hands, looking like he was about to throw up. He then ran about frantically, before rushing towards the nearest trashcan and throwing up up. "Ugh, that was soooo gross."

"Ah well, better luck next time," Jaden said while people laughed at his antics.

* * *

Hope you like it and review are appreciated (seriously I'm a sucker for reviews).

Card made up by me:

**Batteryman Copycat**

Normal Spell

Effect: You can only activate this card when you control one or more 'Batteryman' monster(s). Special summon one Batteryman token (atk/def: 0/0, level: 1, attr: light, type: thunder) to your field. When summoned, select one of your 'Batteryman' monsters. The token is treated as having the same name and effect as the selected monster.

Image: Batteryman AA, C and D standing over a plain gray and black battery.

**Next chapter: **Yugi's deck is on tour and quite a few people have their eyes on it, though not all for the same reasons.


	23. The Relentless Copycat

Disclaimer: How tragic can it be that I do not own Yugioh GX? Very much so!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**The Relentless Copycat**

It was another day at duel Academy. Jaden and Jeremy found themselves simply wandering the hall ways which, strangely enough, had very few people apart from themselves. "Wonder where everyone's at?" Jeremy thought aloud.

"Dunno," Jaden said. "Hey, wanna go to the card shack?"

"Sure, why not?"

When the two of them reached their intended destination, they found the place loaded with students from all dorms. "Hey Bastion." The Ra student in question turned at the greeting. "What's happening around here?"

"Just a little lunch time tussle," Christine explained near them.

"Hi Christine," Jeremy greeted the Obelisk Girl. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good. You?"

"Can't complain. So who's dueling?"

"On the left is Dimitri." The two Slifer boys looked where Bastion pointed and saw another saw student with spiky brown hair, 1000 life-points and two face-down cards on his field.

"I've never heard of this guy," Jaden said. "And who's he throwing down again?" To both his and Jeremy's surprise, they saw Syrus standing at the other end with a Jetroid on his field and 3000 life-points. "Syrus!"

"Hey guys."

"What's going on here?" Jaden asked his friend.

"A high stakes duel. Check it out," he said, then pointed to the wall where there were posters a Yugi Moto in his younger days. "Yugi's deck is going on tour. And the first stop is duel Academy. Isn't that the coolest?"

"Way cool!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"No joke it is. The original King of Games' deck. To see with my very own eyes."

"Yeah, so if I win this I get- Um Jaden?" The brunette Slifer was now gazing at the poster with a dreamy look on his face. "Jaden? Aww man. I was afraid this would happen."

"Yugi's deck, here! I can't believe it! It's a piece of history. All it's been through."

"Yeah, just think about it. It's the deck he brought to the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Where he defeated Pegasus, the creator of duel monsters."

"And Battle City too. He used it to beat Seto Kaiba," Jeremy added.

"And Marik too," Jaden put in.

"I know. And the way he used those Egyptian God cards? That's just amazing. Of course, the deck's not going on tour with the Egyptian Gods, but it will have all the other classics. I can hardly wait! It'll be the coolest thing ever!"

"I'm with you on that one Sy," Jeremy said. "So why are you dueling? Shouldn't we be getting tickets?"

"Jeremy, that's why Syrus is dueling, because there's only one left," Dorothy explained. "And the winner get's it. Can you imagine a duel with a better prize than that?"

"Uhh, yeah," Jaden spoke up. "One with two tickets."

Syrus seemed confused at this. "Two? Why Jay? Did you wanna bring someone else along? I mean, I got my ticket already. See?" he pulled out a ticket stub from his pocket.

"You're dueling for me?" Jaden asked with a smile.

"Of course Jaden. And I'm gonna win."

"But what about me?" Jeremy whinned. "I never got a ticket for myself."

"I've already taken care of that Jeremy." Christine took another ticket from her own pocket. "I figured that since you were taking this long to get here that I might as well get you one in advance. Here you go." She gave him the ticket she was holding out.

The impulsive side of Jeremy's nature briefly decided to take over again and pushed him to suddenly give Christine a hug. "Thanks, you're the greatest!" But then his mind processed exactly what he was doing and he hastily let her go, but not without having his face turn as red as his jacket. "I umm… Sorry… I just umm… umm… umm," he blurted out.

Christine wasn't blushing quite so much as her Slifer friend, though her cheeks were certainly redder than normal. "Umm… it's umm… It's all good," she said, her embarrassment reflected in the tone of her voice.

"Aww, isn't that cute," Jaden commented.

"Shut up Jaden," Jeremy said.

"You go Syrus," Jaden moved on from taunting his blond friend.

"Now let's finish this," the short Slifer said as he stared down Dimitri.

"My turn." The dueling Ra drew his card and grinned. "I play Heavy Storm. And that young scholar, will destroy all the spell and trap cards on the field."

"That sounds, familiar," Jaden noted.

"It should. That's the move Crowler used against you, Jaden," Bastion explained.

"Oh, yeah. What a coincidence."

A gust of wind arose and destroyed Dimitri's two face-downs, two golden fiendish tokens taking their place. "And now I'll sacrifice the two wicked tokens that were created and summon forth, the legendary Ancient Gear Golem." The giant mechanical monster rose in front of the Ra. (3000)

'This is total déjà vu,' Jaden thought as he saw Crowler's signature monster.

"Now attack, Mechanized Melee." The humanoid machine pulled back its right arm to swing it forward.

"Not so fast," Syrus interrupted. "When Jetroid's attacked, his effect activates. Which means I can play a trap straight from my hand. Like this one, Magic Cylinder. It takes Mechanized Melee and sends it right back at you."

"Time out!" Dimitri said, shocked. But his monster already swung its arm, releasing a transparent version of its fist which entered one cylinder and shot out the other towards him.

Dimitri: 1000-0

"Yeah, that's how you duel!" Syrus pumped his arm in the air.

"Sweet moves!" Jaden complimented. "You sent that Golem to the junk pile. Way to go!"

"It was easy. I'd already seen how you beat Dr. Crowler, and since Dimitri was using the same deck, I knew exactly what to do. Now that I'm thinking about it…" Syrus went to the counter and grabbed the ticket he'd dueled for.

"Sy, you're the best!"

"Alright everyone, the show's over," Dorothy spoke up.

As the students moved out Dimitri heard some of the jabs aimed at him.

"Another_ stunning_ performance by Dimitri."

"As a Ra yellow he should've beaten that Slifer."

"Guess copying great duelists and being and two very different things."

"What a joke!"

"It's a wonder he's still here."

Bastion looked at the thinning crowd and turned towards Dimitri with a smile. "Well then. I think that's about the worst of it."

"Sure, until the next time I lose!" he said angrily in his normal voice. "Well I've had it!" He then ran out.

* * *

Later at night, Dimitri was alone in his room, sitting at his deck with books and papers stacked in front of him. "I don't get it. It just doesn't make sense!" he muttered angrily. "I watch and I study, and still I lose!" In his anger, he knocked all the stuff off his desk.

"Crowler's deck, it was a useless as the others. Kaiba's or Zane's, doesn't matter who I copy, I always just lose. What is there left to do? If copying the greatest duelists won't help me work, then what will?"

As if to answer his question, a poster of Yugi fell down to his desk. "Of course, it's so obvious. Becoming the greatest duelist."

* * *

At the same time, Jeremy, Chumley, Jaden and Syrus were sitting in their room. Jeremy was lying down on his bed while Syrus recounted his duel with Dimitri to Chumley and Jaden stared at his Winged Kuriboh. "And then I said, 'Oh no you don't, Dimitri. Cause your Mechanized Melee's coming right back at you', except cooler. Right Jay?"

"Wha?"

"Jaden, you've been staring at your cards all night. What's up?"

"Yugi's deck?" Jeremy ventured a guess.

"Yeah. I just can't get it out of my head."

"Why?" Chumley inquired.

"Why? Why do you like grilled cheese? Look, I can't wait another second to check out those legendary cards. So who's up for going to the exhibit right now?"

"While they're setting up?" Chumley asked. "That's an idea. Like that we'll avoid the rush."

"I'm up for it," Jeremy said.

"Wait, so I dueled to get that ticket for you and you aren't even gonna use it?"

"Syrus, we'll be the first in line tomorrow too."

"Well… all right then."

* * *

Just outside the exhibit hall, two security men had just finished up and were talking to Crowler. "Alright Mr. Crowler-"

"It's Dr. Crowler!" the Obelisk headmaster specified.

"Dr Crowler, we're finished setting up. Here's the key to the display case and the exhibit hall." One of the men handed him a key on a chain.

"Thanks again for letting us off early. We'll see you early tomorrow morning for the big opening. Have a good one, Mister, Doctor… Night sir." They turned around and walked away.

"Yes, goodnight!" he said while barely holding back laughter. "Yes, quite a good night. He then made his way down the hall with the posters of Yugi on the walls. "How many evenings can one say that they are in the presence of greatness? Of the world's most famous dueling deck?" He opened the doors and closed them behind his back, realizing at the same time that the display case was broken the deck missing. "It's not there?"

* * *

At the same time, the two guards were making their way down the halls. "You know, I didn't know he was a doctor."

"I didn't know he was a dude."

They walked by a corner where the four Slifer boys were hiding. They emerged from there and went down the hall in the direction the guards had come from. When they got to the hall, they noticed Bastion coming to the same spot. "Bastion?" Jaden spoke up.

"Fancy meeting you all here. Taking a sneak peek at the deck?"

"Hey, what else could we be doing in these parts at a time like this?" Jeremy asked.

"I guess great minds think alike," Jaden said. Their attention was caught by a shriek coming from the exhibit hall. "Sounds like someone's in trouble."

"Let's go help her." They all ran at Bastion's suggestion and barged into the room. They saw Crowler standing next to the display case, but the deck was missing. "Crowler?"

"The display case. He stole Yugi's deck," Jaden said.

"Why'd you do it?" Syrus demanded.

"No wait. I-"

"Let's get Chancellor Sheppard," Jeremy suggested. They all turned to leave, but were knocked down by Dr. Crowler. "Hey, what gives?"

"I know this looks bad, but believe me, I didn't steal the deck," he pleaded.

"Then who did?" Bastion asked.

"You were the only one here Dr. Crowler," Chumley pointed out. "Standing next to the display case."

"Then search me! Please!"

"You know," Jaden spoke up after a brief deliberation. "It could be that I don't wanna search him… but I think that I actually believe him."

"If that's true," Jeremy said as they all got up. "Then the real thief's still out there! Let's split up and find him."

"Yes, yes, good. We must find this pillager," Crowler agreed. "And by that, I mean you."

* * *

At the edge of the island, Dimitri was standing on a rock near the shore with a green scarf around his neck, looking over the cards he'd stolen. "At last. Now that I have the greatest deck, I'll be the greatest duelist."

"Hey!" Dimitri stayed still at Syrus' shout. "Someone just stole Yugi's deck. Know anything about it?"

"Stole?" the Ra said as he turned to face Syrus, though he spoke in a deeper voice. "What do you mean? This is my deck. If you don't believe me, then why don't you go ahead and let's me show you." He tossed the short Slifer a duel disk. He inserted his deck as Dimitri did the same with the one he wore.

"Aww man."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jaden, Jeremy, Chumley and Bastion met up at the start of the bridge. "The dorms are clear," Bastion reported.

"Classrooms too," Chumley added.

"No luck around the docks," Jeremy filled in.

"I didn't find any trace either," Jaden said. They all heard a yell from not too far away. "That's Syrus!" They ran in the direction of the yell. When they arrived, they found their friend on his back, having just lost a duel again Dimitri who stood on a rock further off. "Syrus, what happened?"

"He's got Yugi's deck. And he beat me with it."

"All right you thief. You've had your fun. But now it's over. Hand over the deck right now Dimitri," Jaden demanded.

"Dimitri?" he scoffed. "You're mistaken. I'm Yugi. Dimitri's just some kid who would study other people and copy them. You see, with these cards, I'm not copying the king of Games, I am the King of Games! And if you want this deck back, you'll have to prove I'm not."

"Anyone else who'll agree that this guy's nuts?" Syrus and Chumley voiced their agreement to Jeremy's comment.

"I never back down from a challenge!" Jaden said.

"Then let's go!"

Syrus tossed him the disk he'd used. He strapped it one, inserted his deck and started it up. "Get your game on!"

"It's time to duel!"

Jaden: 4000

Dimitri: 4000

"Here I come. I play Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in defense mode." The red clad female hero knelt down before Jaden. (800) "And that'll do."

"Will it? I fuse Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet. To create, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast." The lion like beast with a horn on its forehead and the other beast with four arms and two horns on either side of its head appeared, before being sucked into a vortex. From it, emerged a four legged creature with each of the material monster's heads, white wings on its back and a snake tail. (2100)

"This isn't gonna be pretty," Jaden commented.

"Go, Pulverizing Pounce." The mythological creature leapt forward and pounced and the female hero.

"Syrus, you just dueled this guy. Any advice on how to beat him?" Chumley asked.

"No. I tried everything I knew and nothing worked."

"So you're saying that Jaden doesn't have a chance?"

"I'm saying against Yugi's deck, that's a possibility."

"It's more than that," Bastion said. "You see, Dimitri's a copycat duelist. So to defeat him, you must exploit the weaknesses of the person he's copying. Like Syrus did when he copied Crowler. The problem is now he's copying Yugi, a duelist who's weaknesses are not so well known. If he has any at all. There's no set formula to beat the king of games, so there's no set formula to beat Dimitri now."

"Formula or not, Jaden will win this one," Jeremy said.

"So you like fusing monsters do ya? Well you'll love this. Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Clayman combine to create, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." The two named Heroes swirled about each other and merged into the giant armored man. (2400) "And now I'm gonna use his special ability. It let's me destroy a monster who's original attack points are less than his." The giant shot a blast of electricity from the palm of his hand which destroyed Chimera.

"Nice ability. Now let me show you mine. "When Chimera's destroyed, I can summon back Berfomet from the graveyard." The four armed monster reappeared, kneeling down. (1800)

"Yeah, but it won't be there for long. Thunder Giant attack. Voltic Thunder." He shot another blast of electricity which made Dimitri's defense explode. 'That ability saved his life-points from taking a big hit. That deck's living up to the heights.'

"Nice moves Jaden," Jeremy encouraged. "Let's see what Mr. Copycat has to say about that."

"For my turn I play one card face-down. And play Monster Reincarnation. So by discarding one card, I get a monster back from my graveyard. Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts." The named monster appeared on the field as Dimitri placed it on his disk." (1500) "And now, I activate the magic card, Swords of Revealing Light." Jaden and his monster were surrounded on all sides by swords of light.

"Hey, what's happening?" Jaden asked.

"Not your attacks," Dimitri said. "For three turns your monster are useless."

"Three turns! I've gotta break out of this before then. Go Dark Catapulter." The animal like machine knelt beside Jaden's Thunder Giant." (1500)

"Lishus!" Chumley exclaimed. "Jaden will be able to destroy Dimitri's spell with Catapulter's effect."

"Yes, but not until next turn," the dueling Ra butt in. "And Catapulter won't be around that long. Because I have a trap. Dark Renewal. It activates when you summon a monster. Now I can sacrifice one of your monsters and one of mine, to bring back a spellcaster from my graveyard."

"What's he thinking?" Jeremy wondered. "He only has Chimera and Berfomet."

"Remember when I played Monster Reincarnation?"

"Oh, right. Guess I forgot."

"Now I'll bring back that spellcaster. Gazelle, Catapulter, make some room. For the one, the only." The two named monsters turned into streams of light which flowed into the red and gold coffin. "My friend, Dark Magician!" The coffin opened up, from which emerged Yugi's most famous monster. (2500)

"I am star struck," Jaden said. "The Dark Magician is like the headliner of Yugi's entire deck."

"Cool!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Think he'll give an autograph?" Syrus wondered.

"I wish I brought my camera," Chumley added.

'Well played,' Bastion thought. 'I doubt Yugi could have done it better. Dimitri's copying him perfectly and that's not good for Jaden.'

"Well then, I'll switch Thunder Giant into defense mode and end my turn." Jaden's hero knelt down. (1500)

"I play the spell Thousand Knives." A multitude of knives with white glowing blades appeared in the air on Dimitri's field. "And with Dark Magician on the field, this can destroy anyone of your monsters." The purple clad magician pointed his staff forward, commanding the knives to hit Jaden's monster.

"Jaden's Thunder Giant just got cut down to size," Syrus moaned.

"Size zero cause he's gone," Chumley pointed out.

"This won't be good," Jeremy commented.

"Still star struck? Well, let's see how you like getting struck, by your star. Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack." The Magic hurled a ball of magic energy from the tip of his staff at Jaden.

Jaden: 4000-1500

"Give up," Dimitri called out.

"Never!"

"That's the spirit. Never give up. Always believe in the heart of the cards. That's what I say."

"Come on Jaden, time to get your game on!" Jeremy encouraged him.

"Right you are." 'Here goes something.' "Wroughtweiler in defense mode." Jaden's mechanical dog sat down. (1200) "That's it."

"There may be no known formula for defeating Yugi's deck, but it looks like Jaden's still designing one," Bastion said. "And if he's planning what I think he is, then it might work."

"Don't forget, with my spell in play, you can't attack. But I can. Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack." The magician launched another ball of magical energy which vaporized Wroughweiler.

"You just activated his special ability. When he's destroyed in battle, I get back a hero and Polymerization."

"Way to play. You really show promise."

"I didn't think it was possible, but this guy's weirding me out even more."

"I summon back Burstinatrix." The female hero crouched down on Jaden's field again. (800) "Then I'll throw down four face-downs and call it a turn." 'I've only got one monster in my deck with more attack points than the Dark Magician, Elemental Hero Bladege. Lucky for me, summoning him out now should be easy.'

The swords light around Jaden faded away as Dimitri drew his card. "My spell may be gone, but that hardly matters right now. Dark Magician, attack Burstinatrix."

"Not so fast Dimitri. I play A Hero Emerges. It activates as soon as you declare an attack. Now you have to randomly pick a card from my hand, and it it's a monster, I can play it."

"Smart move!" Jeremy commented. "Jaden's only got one card in his hand."

"So let's just get right to it, shall we? Come on out, Bladedge." Jaden's golden armored hero appeared on his field. (2600)

"Alright!" Syrus exclaimed. "Now Jay's got a monster that can beat Dark Magician."

"And every other monster in Yugi's deck," Bastion added. "After all, with no Egyptian God cards, the Dark Magician is the strongest card Dimitri has."

"He's toast!" Jeremy said.

Dimitri laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your friends. They're quite wrong. You see, while it is true the Dark Magician is the strongest monster card in my deck, but as a duelist, you must know that it's rarely about the card, it's what you do with it. And what I'm going to do is play this, Dedication Through Light and Darkness." The image of a card with a monster quite similar to the Magician of Black Chaos appeared on Dimitri's field. Black energy surrounded it and extended towards the Dark Magician, engulfing him as Dimitri spoke. "It takes Dark Magician and turns him into something even more powerful. The legendary, Dark Magician of Chaos."

"Chaos?" Syrus asked.

"This can't good," Jeremy input.

"It's not," Bastion agreed. "It's one of the strongest cards you'll ever see."

"That's right," Dimitri said. "And I'm about to unleash it on you, Jaden. Chaos Magician, rise!" The spellcaster shown on the spell card emerged on to the field. (2800) "Now just by successfully summoning him, I can take back a spell card from the graveyard. And in case you haven't done the math, Bladedge doesn't have the most attack points anymore. Chaos Magician does."

"Oh boy!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Not lishus!"

"Now attack. Scepter Strike." The newest Magician fired off a powerful sphere of magical energy that slammed into Bladedge, thus defeating him.

Jaden: 1500-1300

"Just face it. This deck and I fit perfectly. Always has, always will."

"Not if I can help it!" Jaden said.

"Jaden's in deep trouble," Syrus commented.

"Unfortunately Syrus, that's the understatement of the year. Look what he's up against. The Dark Magician of Chaos, full life-points, the King of Games' deck. The trouble isn't deep, it's subterranean."

'Okay, not only does this guy have Yugi's deck, but he thinks he's Yugi. And the only way to set him straight is by beating him," Jaden thought to himself. "Well, always did want to see how I stacked up against my idol. Guess this is as close as I'll get. My turn." Jaden's eyes widened as he saw that he drew his spirit monster. "Winged Kuriboh?"

"_Coo!_"

"Are you sure? This could get rough, and we are going against your old master's deck."

"_Coo!_"

"Alright, I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode." Jaden's spirit monster appeared besides Burstinatrix. (200) "And that's all for now."

"Winged Kuriboh? Good to see you. Of course, there's nothing quite like the original." A mirror version of Jaden's monster without wings appeared on Dimitri's field. (300)

"Two Kuribohs?" Syrus wondered.

"But first thing's first. Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Burstinatrix."

"I've got a trap, Super Junior Confrontation. I know what you're thinking, sounds kinda weak. But that's just the point. This calls off your magician's attack." The incoming spellcaster stopped in his tracks and returned to his side of the field. "Then it forces both of our weakest monsters to do battle. Weakest in points that is. So it'll be your Kuriboh against mine."

"A hairball battle royale," Chumley commented.

The original one flew towards Jaden's field and tackled his winged counterpart. "You got off easy, but next turn you won't. I end with a face-down," Dimitri said as his monster returned to him.

'Winged Kuriboh took one for the team there,' Bastion thought to himself. 'Losing Burstinatrix would have put Jaden in a tight spot.'

'Well, Jaden may be behind a little, but he's still in this duel.' Jeremy's spirit monster appeared on his shoulder as he watched. 'Hey buddy. Think Jaden can turn this one around?'

"_With the support from you, and everyone else he will. And if he believes he can._"

'Well, that's no problem for him then.'

"My turn," Jaden announced. "And I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards. And they're two sweet ones. Hope you like playing with bubbles, cause I'm summoning Elemental Hero Bubbleman." Jaden's water hero stood up next to Burstinatrix, his cape fluttering behind him. (800) "And I'll play a field spell, one you might need a hard hat for. Skyscraper."

"What the?" Dimitri exclaimed as tall buildings rose around both duelists. "What's the meaning of these buildings?"

"Meaning? To kick your butt Dimitri," Syrus said.

"That's right. Cause here and Elemental Hero gains a thousand attack points if it's weaker than the monster it fighting. And I'll play this too, Bubble Blaster." A large bazooka like weapon with a water reservoir appeared on the water hero's shoulder. "And this thing packs some pop, 800 points worth. Plus, if Bubbleman ever get's attacked, Bubble Blaster takes the hit for him. Now to give him those extra attack points…" (800-1600) "and now, to use em." Bubbleman fired a large bubble from his weapon at the weakest monster in the field.

"Let's go Bubbleman, clean the Kuriboh's clock," Syrus cheered.

"But which Kuriboh?" Dimitri said. "I play the magic card, Multiply!" The furry monster split into four pieces, which became replicas of the original monster. (200) x4

"Now there's four of them!" Syrus exclaimed

"Correct. By sacrificing one Kuriboh, I can summon Kuriboh Tokens on all open spaces on all open spaces in my monster card zone. Of course, your blast is still in play..." One of the tokens was hit by the incoming bubble and exploded in a shower of pixels. "But its significance has been deflated."

"Fine. I end my turn."

"And I'll begin mine, by playing Card of Sanctity. It forces both of us to draw until we each hold six cards." Jaden drew the full six and Dimitri five. "Excellent, I drew the monster Watapon. When he's drawn with the effect of a spell, trap or monster, I can summon it to the field." A little white puffball with blue eyes and antennas appeared amidst the Kuriboh tokens." (200) "But he won't be there for long, because now I sacrifice him, and bring out, Dark Magician Girl." The blond female magician dressed in her blue and pink outfit took her place on the field. (2000)

"Wow. She's even cuter in person," Jaden remarked.

"Hey, Syrus?" Jeremy waved his hand in front of his friend who was staring at Dimitri's monster with a dreamy look on his face.

"She has both beauty and brawn. For every Dark Magician in the graveyard, she gains 300 attack points." (2000-2300) "and on the subject of Dark Magicians, don't forget about this one. Dark Magician of Chaos, attack." The powerful magician fired off and blast of magic energy which Bubbleman blocked with his weapon. (800-1600) "Now he started, she'll finish. Dark Magician Girl, Dark Burning attack." The magical woman twirled her staff about and shot a sphere of pink magic at Jaden's hero. Though he was empowered by Skyscraper, he was destroyed regardless.

Jaden: 1300-800

"The Heart of the Cards are indeed powerful, aren't they Jaden?"

"Alright, so you got in a few good shots. Now it's my turn. And with the cards in my hand, I'll be able to return the favor and then some. I reveal Polymerization, fusing Avian and Burstinatrix to summon the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." The red and green heroes disappeared and came back as Jaden's favorite monster. (2100)

"Alright!" Jeremy exclaimed. "With Wingman out, Jaden's back in the driver's seat!"

"But that's not all. I play The Warrior Returning Alive. It let's me bring back a past warrior monster, like Sparkman." Jaden retrieved the hero from his grave and placed it on his disk. (1600) "And don't forget about Skyscraper, Flame Wingman get's an extra thousand attack points in battle." (2100-3100)

"Wait! 3100 attack points!" Dimitri said in realization. "That's-"

"Yep, just enough to take out your magician, either one. But since I have a soft spot for the girl, we'll start with him. Skydive Scorcher." The powerful fusion monster leapt into the air, was covered in flames, and dove down at the Chaos Magician, slamming into him and destroying him.

Dimitri: 4000-3700

"And there's also his effect. Now you take damage equal to the attack points of the monster you just lost."

Dimitri: 3700-900

"Take that!" Chumley cheered. "Yugi, Dimitri, whatever your name is."

"Way to play Jay! Nice work!"

'_Your friend's doing rather well,_' Jeremy's spirit monster commented.

'What'd you expect? That's Jaden for you.'

"Crazy," Jaden said. "I'm beating Yugi's deck."

'Simply remarkable,' Bastion thought to himself. 'Dimitri is dueling just like the King of Game would, yet Jaden is staying competitive, winning even. Sure, he was a bit overwhelmed at first, but now he's really turned things around. Maybe his deck will go on tour right beside's Yugi's, assuming he can win it back that is.'

"Sparkman attack. Sparkstorm." The electric hero brought his hands overhead and thrust them forward, shooting a spiral of power that fried one of the tokens. "Next I'll throw down two face-downs and use the spell Emergency Provisions. By sacrificing one of those face-downs, I get back a thousand life-points."

Jaden: 800-1800

"Sweet, don't you think?" 'But not as sweet as what's about to happen. I mean, one more attack and I'll have beaten the King of Games' deck.'

"Jaden, he's all yours. You've got him." Syrus cheered.

"You have nothing!" Dimitri bellowed. "My deck is prepared for anything. First, I switch Dark Magician Girl to defense mode." The female magician kneeled down. (1700) "Then I'll activate Spider Web." A white string came from the spell and reached for Jaden's graveyard. "It allows me to take one of the cards you sent to your graveyard last turn and place it directly into my hand. And soon, it will go directly into my life-points." The string deposited the chosen card in Dimitri's hand. "Because I chose Emergency Provisions. Next I'll place two cards face-down, then I'll activate Monster Reincarnation. And next I'll play Emergency Provisions, sacrificing my three cards to regain 3000 life-points."

Dimitri: 900-3900

"Finally, thanks to Monster Reincarnation, I'll take back the Kuriboh I lost. Did you follow all of that?"

"Not a word of it," Syrus spoke up.

"Well I did," Jaden said. "Those were some sweet moves, but they won't save you from the Flame Wingman. Skydive Scorcher." The green and red hero dive bombed the kneeling girl. "And don't forget his ability, you get hit for damage equal to the attack point of the Dark Magician Girl." The Flame Wingman landed in front of Dimitri and blaster him with fire from his dragon arm.

Dimitri: 3900-1600

"Good thing I padded my points last turn."

"Yeah? Well good thing I have a couple of attacks left. I play De-Fusion. Now Flame Wingman splits." (1200) (1000)

"Jaden's impressing more and more every turn!" Bastion said amazed. "What skillful play. Now he can attack with both monsters separately."

"Avian attack, Talon Hair." The winged monster flew at one of the tokens and raked it with his taloned foot. "Now, Burstinatrix, Flare Storm." The female hero formed a fireball in her hands and threw it at the remaining Kuriboh.

"That's how you duel!" Syrus said.

"Lishus! One more attack and he'll nail Dimitri's life-points."

"And with Sparkman out, that attack will be right now," Bastion pointed out.

"You go get im Jaden."

"Go Sparkman, attack."

Dimitri smiled as the attack came closer. "You're forgetting about someone. Kuriboh." An image of the furry monster appeared in front of Dimitri to take the hit.

"What the?"

"By discarding Kuriboh, I don't take any damage from Sparkman's little firework display. Good thing Monster Reincarnation let me bring him back."

"Oh, yeah. My bad."

"Thank you Kuriboh. That move takes me back to our Battle City duel against Seto Kaiba."

"Battle City? This guy's gone even crazier," Syrus commented.

'_That much is obvious_.'

'No joke.'

"Now let's continued, for Kuriboh. His fall won't be in vain. Perfect," he said as he drew. "the Heart of the Cards has served me again. I removed one dark monster and light monster from my graveyard."

"Wait a sec," Jaden spoke up. "Why are you doing this?"

"I've never seen this. Is it a summoning?" Syrus asked

"Nah, no way," Chumley said.

"You're wrong!" Bastion realized. "There are two monsters that can be summoned like this. Two rare cards of such power. Delists have scoured the world to obtain them. The first is Chaos Emperor Dragon Envoy of the End. A card so powerful, it has been banned from official duel monster tournaments. The second had comparable powers, but has never been forbidden. In fact, some say not a single copy exists."

"Is that so?" Dimitri said. "Well they're wrong, because I have one right here. Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning." They all watched, stunned at the warrior that emerged from the vortex created by Kuriboh and Watapon's disappearance. He had dark blue armor outlined in gold with a ruby on the helm and chest plate, a triangular shield with the same make as his armor and wicked curved sword. (3000)

"So Yugi really did have that card. I always thought it was just a rumor," Jaden mentioned.

"I'm afraid not. This card's been a part of my deck for a long time. But I only take him out for… special occasions. Like now, Luster Blade attack." The mighty warrior stabbed the air, projecting a flurry of smaller ones that cut down Avian.

Jaden: 1800-800

"Ouch, that hurt," Jaden said.

"Well that was just the beginning. Now I'll show you the true power of this card. You see, if he can destroy one of your monsters in battle, he's allowed to attack again."

"No way!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Aww man. Now I'm beginning to see why monsters like this are outlawed." Syrus quaked in fear as he spoke.

"And now, Black Luster Soldier, end this!" The named monster dashed towards Burstinatrix with his sword at the ready.

"He's through. Jaden's life-points can't take another hit," Bastion pointed out.

"Come on Jaden, Just hang in there," Jeremy shouted.

"It's not over yet! I play the trap Hero Spirit." A spirit form of Avian emerged in front of Burstinatrix to block the incoming warriors weapon.

"What's this?"

"It's not the end of the duel. Cause if a hero is destroyed and I play Hero Spirit, I can turn all the following damage to zero."

"Fine then, I'll just finish you off next turn. The Heart of the Cards will see to that."

'He may be right,' Jaden thought. 'Yugi's deck is just so powerful. I thought I could win, but now I don't know.' Jeremy's spirit hopped of his shoulder and went over to Jaden at the same time that Winged Kuriboh made his appearance.

"_Coo!_"

"_Jaden, this is no way to start thinking!_"

"But what can I do? He's got the heart of the cards on his side." The two spirits smacked him on the head.

"Jaden, just think about it for a second. He can't have the Heart of the Cards with him," Jeremy said.

"Wadda you mean? That's Yugi's deck!" He then gasped in realization. 'Of course, that Yugi's deck! The Heart of the Cards comes from believing in your own cards, not someone's you stole. And I believe in my deck. So if the Heart of the Cards is on anyone's side, it's on mine.' He gave Jeremy a thumbs up before drawing. "Sorry Dimitri, but I believe."

"What?"

"I activate Silent Doom. This spell card allows me to summon a monster from my graveyard in defense mode. So come on back Avian." The green hero appeared again, in a kneeling position. (1000) "Next I play Double Spell. And by discarding a spell card from my hand, I can use one spell card from your graveyard. If you need more info, just look under the official rulebook under the heading, 'Ouch! I lose'."

"Sounds like Jaden has a plan," Bastion noted.

"So I'll discard this and help myself to your Polymerization. Now I'll fuse Avian and Burstinatrix, to create my deck's headliner one more time. The Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." The green and red heroes merged and the Flame Wingman appeared on the tip of the tallest Skyscraper. (2100) "And with Skyscraper still out, he gains an extra 1000 points in battle. Now, attack Black Luster Soldier with, Skydive Scorcher." The Wingman dove down and slammed his flame covered arm into the opposing warrior.

Dimitri: 1600-1500

"He's gone, my Luster Soldier's gone!" Dimitri exclaimed.

"Don't sweat it. He was never yours to begin with. Besides, if you wanna worry about something, worry about wingman's superpower. It makes you lose life-points equal to Luster Soldier's attack points." Jaden's monster shot a blast of fire from its dragon arm that depleted all of Dimitri's life-points.

Dimitri: 1500-0

"That's game!"

"And what a game!" Jeremy exclaimed. "I knew you could do it!"

"I've been beaten…" Dimitri said as he fell to his knees. "Even with… Yugi's legendary cards," he said in his normal voice. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I ever win?"

"The answer to that should be obvious." They all turned to face the direction the voice had come and saw Zane, accompanied by Alexis and Christine. "Hey, you're Zane."

"Why're you guys here?" Jaden inquired.

"Why else? We came to see the deck. But it was missing," Alexis explained.

"We knew the thief couldn't have gotten far, so we looked around. We found you a while ago, but didn't want to interrupt the duel," Christine filled in.

"Kind of you," Bastion remarked.

"Wait, then, you saw it all? Me and Dimitri? The whole thing?"

"Not just us. Your match attracted quite a crowd." They then looked to where Zane was pointing and saw all the people higher up who had been watching all along.

"Umm, hey! Glad you all could make it!" Jaden waved at them as they clapped.

"What now?" Dimitri asked.

"Well kid, the punishment for stealing has always been straight up expulsions. But, since I think pretty much everyone enjoyed seeing Yugi's deck in a duel rather than a display case, I doubt anyone will turn you in."

"What difference will it make? I lost."

"You didn't lose," Jaden said. "That person you were pretending to be did."

"Yugi?"

"No. You can never be Yugi."

"Then, who was I?"

"Well, you were you, but you weren't. See, when you copy someone it's not like you're that person. You're you copying that person. You know? Yeah, that makes sense, right?"

"Umm," Jeremy scratched his head. "I don't think so. Least, not to me."

"Let me attempt to interpret for him," Zane said. "You never win until you put yourself out there. That means creating your own deck and your own strategies. Now piggybacking off of someone else. After all, no amount of studying will make you able to use someone else deck as well as them."

"Yeah. What Zane said. That's exactly what I meant. I mean, no offense, but just cause I beat you, doesn't mean I could've beat Yugi. So how about we put that deck back where it belongs."

"Yeah, ok."

* * *

The next morning saw the exhibit hall filled with students looking at the posters of Yugi and his deck in the display case. Jaden was smiling as he, Jeremy, Christine and Chumley were hanging out together. "Would you look at that? Everything's back to normal."

Chumley nodded. "Well, as normal as things get around this place."

"Too true," Jeremy added. "Thanks again for the ticket," he told the Obelisk girl.

"Hey, no problem. Always a pleasure to help a friend in need."

"So what's that you've got there Jaden?" Chumley said, noticing the rolled up poster he held.

"This? Just an autographed poster of the King of Games. Pretty sweet huh?"

"It sure is. But just so you know, I heard Dimitri talking in the Yugi when he put that deck back. And then he got into the merchandise, and he had a pen." Jeremy laughed as Jaden sweat dropped.

"Hey guys!"

"What's up Sy?"

"It's Dimitri. He's at it again."

"Please tell me you're joking," Jeremy said.

"Umm, no."

* * *

After running out the main building and through the woods, they came across Dimitri. Only catch, was that he was wearing a Slifer Red jacket, had the haircut as Jaden, as well as the same shirt and pants. "Dimitri? What're you doing?"

"Dimitri? Who's this Dimitri? My name is Jaden and I'm a Slifer Red. Now we're gonna duel! So turn you're game on."

The five of them slapped their foreheads with the palm of their hands. "It's get your game on. Say it right!"

"Jaden, let me take care of this," Jeremy stepped up. "Alright Dimitri."

"It's Jaden."

"Dimitri, Jaden, whatever! You know who I'm talking to! Anyways, I propose that you and I duel. You win, you get to duel Jaden. I win, you become yourself again, and use your own deck. Everyone ok with that?"

"You've got my full support," Jaden said.

"Fine with me! Just because you're my friend, doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."

"Hey! My friend is that Jaden over there! So let's just do this."

Both of them inserted their decks and started their disks. "Duel!"

Jeremy: 4000

Dimitri: 4000

"I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode." The electric hero appeared in front of Dimitri. (1600) "Then I'll throw down a face-down."

"My turn. I summon The Six Samurai Zanji in attack mode." Jeremy's samurai stood poised with his weapon, ready to battle. (1800) "And I'll equip him with Legendary Ebon Steed." The samurai mounted the black warhorse. (1800-2000) "Now attack Sparkman." Digging his heels into his horse's sides, Zanji then charged down the Elemental and stabbed him with his weapon.

Dimitri: 4000-3600

"I activate my trap, Hero Signal." A ray of light with an 'H' appeared from the trap. "With this, I can summon one elemental hero from my hand or deck. And I choose Elemental Hero Clayman." The stone warrior knelt down where Sparkman had been (2000)

"I end my turn."

"I play The Warrior Returning Alive, to bring back, Elemental Hero Sparkman. Then I'll fuse him and Clayman to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." The two monsters combined into the giant. (2400) "Now with his special ability, he can destroy your samurai, since your monster has less attack points than him." The electric behemoth shot out a blast of electricity from the palm of his hand, though Zanji jumped off his horse in time to avoid it. "What the?"

"Dimitri may know about Jaden's deck, but not so much about the cards Jeremy uses," Christine commented. "This should be easy enough."

"You see, when a monster equipped with Legendary Ebon Steed's about to be destroyed, it takes the hit instead." (2000-1800)

"Fine then. Thunder Giant attack. Voltic Thunder." Again the giant shot a blast of electricity, that hit Jeremy's samurai this time.

Jeremy: 4000-3400

"That's all for now."

"I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian." The elven warrior faced off with his enemy, sword drawn and cape billowing behind. (1400) "And next I'll play one face-down and equip him with Mage Power, giving him an additional 500 attack and defence points for every spell and trap card I have." (1400-2400/1200-2200) "Now attack Thunder Giant. Silver Blade Strike." Jeremy's guardian leapt high in the air with his sword drawn back.

"What's the point? Both our monsters will be destroyed."

"Not quite. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian can't be destroyed when battling a monster with 1900 or more attack points." Thunder Giant tried to stop his opponent, but he cut through him regardless. "I guess I'll turn things over to you."

"That's another time Dimitri overlooked something that you'd know about," Christine said to Jaden.

"Even if Dimitri's the one dueling, it's still cool to see Jeremy's deck against mine. That'll make it all the sweeter when we finally face-off."

"You said it Jayman."

"But we are facing off," Dimitri said.

"Not you Jaden, the real one!"

"My turn then. I play Pot of Greed, so I can draw two more cards. Swell!"

"It's sweet!" Jaden freaked out at the maiming of his catchphrase.

"Ok. I activate Fusion Recovery. This lets me add one Polymerization and one fusion material monster in my graveyard right to my hand. Now I'll summon Elemental Hero Clayman." The stone warrior rose again. (800) "And I equip him with Claywrap." Clayman was covered in a layer of transparent clay. "Now I'll play Polymerization once again. To combine Clayman and Burstinatrix to create, the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster in defence mode." The armoured female hero knelt down opposite Jeremy's guardian. (2500)

"Well, he may not be Jaden, but he can still use his moves decently," Syrus commented.

"Because Clayman just went to the graveyard while he was equipped with Claywrap, I can destroy one of your magic or trap cards. So say goodbye to Mage Power." (2400-1400/2200-1200) "And since Rampart Blaster is in defence, by cutting her attack points in half, she can attack you directly." (2000-1000) "Now blast him." The female hero shot a couple of rocket from her cannon arm that landed around Jeremy.

Jeremy: 3400-2400

"I'll end my turn by throwing up a face-down. I mean throwing a face-down. Or throwing down." Jaden moaned upon hearing him.

"Well check this out. I reveal my trap, Return of the Six Samurai. Like the name suggest, it brings back a six samurai monster from my graveyard. So come on back Zanji." His red gold armoured monster reappeared. (1800) "Now I summon The Six Samurai Yaichi." The already existing samurai was joined by his yellow armored counterpart. (1300) "And thanks to his special ability, by not attacking, he can destroy your face-down." Yaichi nocked an arrow and shot Dimitri's face-down. "With that out of the way, Zanji attack Rampart Blaster. Piercing strike."

"My monster's too tough for yours to destroy."

"Seriously, there's a load of stuff about my deck that the real Jaden' would know. Like that Zanji has a handy special effect. As long as he's with another six samurai monster, any guy that he attacks, or girl in this case, is a gonner." Zanji's weapon cut through Blaster's shield and destroyed her.

Jeremy: 2400-1700

"Go Obnoxious Celtic Guardian." The elven monster rushed forward and swung his sword at Dimitri.

Dimitri: 3600-2200

"I'm done for the moment. And because of Return of the Six Samurai, Zanji goes back to the graveyard." The samurai in question disappeared again.

"Nice one Jeremy," Jaden said. "At this rate you'll have him beat in no time."

"I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode." The water hero stood tall opposite the other warriors. (800) "And because he's the only card on my field, I get to draw two more cards. Now I'll equip him with Bubble Blaster. This gives him an extra 800 attack points." Bubbleman rested the weapon on his shoulder (800-1600) "Attack his guardian. Bombarding Bubble Barrage." He shot a stream of bubbles that exploded against Jeremy's guardian.

Jeremy: 1700-1500

"Then I'll play Mirage of Nightmare. And I'll throw down a face-down."

"This isn't looking so good for Jeremy," Chumley commented.

"Pff, he'll be fine," Jaden remained optimistic despite the difference of life-points.

"My turn."

"Now my mirage spell let's me draw until I have four cards."

"Good for you. I summon the Six Samurai Irou." Jeremy's darker samurai held his sword at the ready as he appeared. (1700) "And now I'll have him attack Bubbleman with Shadow Samurai Strike." He dashed forward and cut through the hero's weapon.

"Sorry, when Bubbleman's equipped with his blaster, it takes the hit and I take no damage. Plus I activate Emergency Provision, giving up Mirage of Nightmare to regain 1000 life-points."

Dimitri: 2200-3200

"But now you've got nothing to defend Bubbleman from my other samurai." Yaichi shot an arrow which struck Bubbleman in his chest.

Dimitri: 3200-2700

"That's it for now."

"I activate Monster Reborn to resurrect Rampart Blaster." The armoured female hero rose again. (2000) "Then I'll play De-Fusion, to split her back into Clayman and Burstinatrix." The heroes of earth and fire appeared in her place. (800) (1200) "Now I play Polymerization, fusing Burstinatrix and Avian into, the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." The monster who had defeated Yugi's deck came together against Jeremy. (2100)

"This isn't looking good," Syrus noted.

"Yeah, Dimitri has Flame Wingman, and Jeremy doesn't have any spells of traps to protect himself," Chumley pointed out.

"While I'm at it, I activate D. D. Designator."

"Huh? But I don't have that card in my deck," Jaden noted.

"I don't normally use this card, but I decided to throw it in my deck in case. Now this let's me name one card. If you have it in your hand, it's removed from play, if you don't, one of the cards in my hand is removed from play. And I choose Shadow of the Six Samurai."

Jeremy showed his hand, revealing he held Nisashi and Shadow of the Six Samurai, which he pocketed because of D. D. Designator. "How'd he know to do that?" Chumley wondered.

"Lucky guess maybe?" Christine suggested. "Or maybe he knew a little bit about Jeremy's deck," she said in an unconcerned tone.

"Aww man," Syrus moaned. "Now Jeremy can't use that card to save himself."

"Don't sweat it Syrus. He'll be fine," Christine reassured him.

"Now I'll throw Skyscraper in the midst as well." The familiar skyscraper buildings emerged from the ground around them. "Flame Wingman, attack Irou with Infernal Rage." The hero shot a blast of fire at the sword wielding samurai.

"Yaichi, defend him!" The other samurai jumped in front of his ally to block the hit, though Jeremy still lost life-points.

Jeremy: 1500-1100

"What?" Dimitri said in shock. "How did you survive that?"

"That's another trick that my samurais share. When ever one's destroyed, I can sacrifice another to save him from destruction. And because Flame Wingman's effect only works when the monster is destroyed in battle, I'm still in this."

"Sweet moves man!" Jaden cheered.

"I told you he'd be fine," Christine reminded Syrus.

"Fine then. Clayman, attack Irou." Empowered by Skyscraper, Clayman charged forward and slugged Irou in the gut.

Jeremy: 1100-1000

"And that's it for now."

"My turn." 'Come on deck, show me some love.' "Oh yeah baby! I summon Specter of the Six Samurai." The departed warrior materialized on Jeremy's field. (1200) "The cool part about this guy, is that his special power allows me to draw one card for every Six Samurai monster in the graveyard when he's normal summoned. So I get three. Now here's one of my cards I haven't even played yet."

"I wonder what it could be." Syrus wondered.

"It must be something cool," Jaden said excitedly.

"First, I remove from play Yaichi and Irou, this let's me to summon Enishi, Shien's Chancellor." Jeremy's newest monster was a man with black and gray hair and a serious expression on his face. He wore a light brown shirt and pants, a green vest and had a katana and a long knife at his waist. (2200)

"He may have more attack points, but if he attacks, Flame Wingman will gain a thousand," Dimitri pointed at the Skyscrapers.

"I'm not done yet. I play Junk dealer. So I can bring back two monsters with half their attack points. But I only have two left anyway." Zanji and Obnoxious Celtic Guardian came back, though with less points. (900) (700) "Now I activate Enishi's effect. By giving up his attack, he can destroy the Flame Wingman." Enishi unsheathed his knife and with a flick of his wrist, threw it towards the intended target. "Then I'll play Turn Jump. Seeing that it skips three turns ahead, I can have Enishi attack Clayman." Clayman tried to fend off his opponent's sword, but it simply pierced him anyway.

Dimitri: 2700-2300

"Now my three remaining monsters can finish you off." The three other warriors simultaneously rushed Dimitri, their attacks knocking him down on his back.

Dimitri: 2300-0

"Mind if I borrow your catch phrase Jay?"

"Sure Jeremy."

"Now that's game." He then turned towards Dimitri who got had gotten up. "Ok then, since I won, you have to make your own deck now."

"Alright," he said in his normal voice. "I agreed to stop this."

"That's the spirit!" Jeremy said.

"I've just gotta say, after duelling you with Jaden's deck, I'm looking forward to the day you two face-off."

"Nice to know." Jeremy high fived his friends as they walked back. "You know Jaden, I'm looking forward to the day we duel too."

"Same here."

* * *

Really long chapter, I know, but I'm still hoping you liked it. If you don't mind reviewing, then that's cool. If you do, then that's still cool.

**Next chapter:** A strange new student comes to the Slifer dorm for a while.


	24. Love Does Strange Things

Disclaimer: I shan't ever own Yugioh GX.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Love is a Strange Thing**

The morning sun shone over Academy Island while most of the inhabitants of the Slifer Red dorm were in the lunchroom for breakfast. They were interrupted from their usual routine when Banner stepped in with a message. "Could I please have everyone's attention? Eyes forward students. Chumley, stop chewing with your mouth open!" Jeremy chuckled a bit at Chumley, though it was muffled by the fact that his cheeks were puffed up like a squirrel because of his food. "Now, please join me in welcoming a new transfer student. Blair Flaniggan." They all saw Blair who was short, more so than Syrus, had blue hair sticking out a bit from underneath his cap, a Slifer Red jacket and brown eyes which were generally hidden because he mostly kept his head down.

"I had to stop chewing for a transfer student?" Chumley complained.

"Aww man," Syrus moaned. "He's smaller than me, dresses goofier than me… My sidekick gig is over."

"Come on, be nice." Jaden stood up to welcome the transfer. "Blair, welcome to, S-L-I-F… something, Slifer!" he said enthusiastically.

Jeremy then made a series of sounds with his mouth that could be interpreted as, "What he said."

Blair recoiled a bit as Jaden approached him and placed an arm around his shoulders, attempting to be friendly. "We're the best dorm on campus."

"You said it Jay!" Jeremy said after having swallowed the food in his mouth.

"See, here we're not a bunch of stuffy, eggheaded, straight A getting brainiacs."

"Jaden, wait. You don't understand," Banner told him.

"What's not to understand Professor Banner? I'm just trying to…" Blair released himself from Jaden and stood timidly behind Banner. "Help… Blair… feel at home."

"But this isn't Blair's home, at least, not for long. He scored nearly perfect on all his entrance exams."

"Ohh…"

"You see, it is academy policy that all transfer students start out in the Slifer dorm. But, with his high marks, he'll be moved up to Ra Yellow within a few days."

Jaden laughed at this. "Yeah right! And next you'll be saying that he's gonna move into our dorm room cause of all the extra space." He turned to his friends with a wide smile on his face. "I just love this guy!"

Syrus, Chumley and Jeremy stood up. "Good one Jaden."

"I agree," Banner stated. "Blair, you can stay with Jaden and his friends during your time with us." The expression on Jaden, Syrus and Chumley's faces was priceless. Jeremy was not to be seen, having done an anime style fall in shock. "Now why don't you say hello to your new roommates."

"Hello," Blair said in a low, soft voice.

* * *

Later on, the students of all three dorms were gathered in one of the larger classrooms and waiting for an announcement. People were talking amongst themselves, guessing what it could be about. Soon enough, Chancellor Sheppard's face appeared on the screen. "**Settle down people, attention please. Chumley, stop chewing with your mouth open!**" After they were all calmed down, he began talking again. "**Good. Now the big match against our rival school, North Academy, is coming up. Last year, Zane, our student rep, whooped em good. And this year we can win the school duel again.**"

Syrus noticed Blair looking at Zane. "Hey Blair, did you know Zane's my brother?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's pretty cool. But our mom says I got the looks."

"Yeah, that's right," Jeremy said while laughing at this.

"**Now we still haven't decided on who is going to represent us this year. So if you keep hitting those books and dueling hard, you may be the one who get's the honor.**"

"Alright!" Jaden exclaimed. "Did you hear what he said? It could be me in this match."

"Dream on Jayman," Jeremy joined in. "I'm sure it'll be me dueling."

"Or it could be me," Syrus said. "But we might as well face it guys. It'll probably be Zane who get's the spotlight again."

"How come?" they asked.

"Because he's amazing," Blair muttered.

* * *

"Amazing? What's that got to do about it?" Jaden complained as they all walked outside. "It should be about who's best."

"Zane did beat you in a duel Jaden," Syrus pointed out.

"Even if it was close match," Jeremy said.

"That's true," Syrus admitted.

"Is that Blair?" Chumley pointed. They saw Blair running across the pathway leading from the main building.

Jaden and Jeremy had twin looks of suspicion at seeing him go by and ran off in the same direction. "Uhh, guys?"

"Gotta check something out," Jaden said.

"But what?"

"Not sure Sy," Jeremy answered.

The two Slifers followed Blair all the way to the Obelisk Blue boy's dorm. When they arrived, they hid behind a column and watched him making his way across a branch towards one of the rooms on the second level. "Well this sure is strange," Jeremy commented.

"No kidding. First he makes that weird comment about Zane. And now he's sneaking into the Obelisk Blue dorm. Something's definitely up."

They approached the tree and were going to climb up, but decided that the lowest branch looked better for someone smaller. "Hey Jaden, I'll give you a lift and you get up like that."

"Ok then." Jeremy cupped his hands together and Jaden placed his right foot in them. Heaving upward enabled Jaden to reach the next branch and climb the rest of the way.

Jeremy stayed by the tree while waiting for Jaden to come back. Barely a moment later, and he heard the sound of someone coming in his direction. It was close enough that Jeremy immediately ran away, but after going a short distance, he happened to trip on the roots of another tree and landed face-down in front of a pair of Obelisk students. One of them had shoulder length black hair and blue eyes, while the other had green hair and eyes. "Well, lookie what we got here," the one with black hair said.

"Looks like a Slifer reject sneaking around," the other added.

"Sorry guys. I was just… running through... and I tripped and fell. That's all," Jeremy said as he got up.

They both scoffed at this. "Wadda you think we should do with this chump, Carl?"

"I think we should give him a king sized of butt whoop, Deran."

"Come on now. Can't we do this peacefully?" Jeremy asked. To answer, they took out three duel disks, each strapped on one and tossed the third to him. "Now you're talking my language," he said, not uneasy about facing them both at once. He attached the disk to his arm, put his deck in and started it up. "Let's do this!"

Carl: 4000

Deran: 4000

Jeremy: 4000

"I'll start this off," Carl announced. "I play Graceful Charity. So I draw three and ditch two. Then I summon Rapid-Fire Magician." A man dressed in deep purple and black clothes appeared. He held two staves and had a bunch of multicolored orbs hovering around him. (1600) "Then I activate Monster Reborn to bring back the one I just discarded." A copy of the already present Magician appeared. (1600) "And because a normal spell was just played, the first deals 400 points of damage to you." The first one launched an orb which struck Jeremy's disk.

Jeremy: 4000-3600

"Next I activate Double Summon. And with my two magicians, you lose 800 more points." Both monsters hurled an orb at Jeremy.

Jeremy: 3600-2800

"Now I'll summon Element Magician." A woman with wavy blue hair and a short green outfit took her place besides the male ones. (1500) "That's all for now."

"I summon Magician's Valkyria." Another female spellcaster appeared. This one with long orange hair, a long green hat with golden wings, an outfit with the top green and the lower part purple and holding a staff that curved inward at the end. (1600) "Then I activate my own Double Summon. So you lose another 800 life-points." Again the two magicians hurled orbs at the Slifer duelist.

Jeremy: 2800-2000

"And I summon a second Magician's Valkyria." A second copy of the staff wielding female magician rose beside the first. (1600)

Jeremy: 2800-2000

"Finally, I play Magical Blast. Now you lose 200 life-points for every spellcaster type monster on our field, along with another 800 points because a normal spell was played." A large ball of red and blue magical energy shot out from the spell card towards Jeremy.

Jeremy: 2000-200

"That end's my turn. But with two valkyria's, you can't attack our spellcasters. And next turn, I can add Magical Blast to my hand. You may as well give up."

"Nope, don't think I will. Instead, I'll activate Six Samurai United. So for every Six Samurai monster summoned, it get's a bushido counter. Then I summon this guy, Six Samurai Apprentice." This particular monster was a teenage boy with green robes, black hair tied into a top knot, a long hunting knife on his belt and wearing brown leather armor on his arms, legs and chest. He crouched down on Deran's field between the two valkyrias. (1400)

"Hey! I don't want him!"

"Well that's too bad. Cause I can only summon him to my opponent's side of the field and in defense mode, although I can't normal summon on the same turn. But I can still discard Shadow of the Six Samurai to special summon Yariza." The samurai with dark blue armor and wielding a spear appeared in front of Jeremy. (1000) "Then I summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." The present samurai was joined by the older warrior. (2100) "And I'll follow up with Great Shogun Shien." Jeremy signature card stood taller than all the others. (2500)

"Even with him out, it won't do you any good," Carl said.

"I'm not done yet. Now I'll draw three cards by getting rid of Six Samurai United. Then I place one card face-down and play Turn Jump. By the way, with Six Samurai Apprentice on your side, you lose 300 life-points during my end phase for every six samurai I have out and 400 for every shien effect monster. Plus with Turn Jump, you'll be taking that damage three times." The young warrior turned around and struck Deran's disk three times with his knife.

Deran: 4000-1000

"Now I summon the six samurai Zanji." Jeremy's red gold armoured samurai appeared amidst the others. (1800)

"Even with all you have out, you still can't touch either of us. My two valkyrias stop you from attacking all our spellcasters," Deran pointed out.

"But they don't protect against direct attacks. And since Yariza's on the field with his friends, that's exactly what he's gonna do. Hit Deran with Blazing Spear." The named monster jumped in the air and launched his weapon which struck the Obelisk student.

Deran: 1000-0

"And with that out of the way, so is the protection all your spellcasters get," Jeremy pointed out. "Now I activate Breakthrough. And as soon as one of my six samurais destroys one of your monsters, the rest of them, as well as Great Shogun Shien can attack you directly. Zanji, take out Element Magician." The samurai in question dashed forward and scored a hit on the female magician with his sword pointed spear.

Carl: 4000-3700

"Grandmaster, Shogun, hit im directly." Jeremy's strongest monsters dashed by the two remaining spellcasters and struck Carl at the same time.

Carl: 3700-0

"Now that was fun. But, I have to get going now." Jeremy took his deck out of the disk, dropped it on the ground and ran away.

* * *

Jaden discreetly watched as Blair made his way across the room. Blair then took a deck case from the stand beside the bed and opened it up. He took out the top card, which was a Cyber Dragon. "What in the world is he doing?" Jaden was weirded out even further when he saw him rub his cheek against the case. He went to turn back, and then noticed Zane, followed by three Obelisks who were making their way to the dorm building. He ran back into the room where Blair was still holding Zane's deck. "I don't know what you're up to, but you've gotta get out of here right now. Otherwise you'll get expelled for trespassing!"

"Where'd you come from?"

They both heard the four Obelisk students coming from the hall. "I'll explain later. Let's go!" He grabbed Blair's hand and pulled him towards the tree to get away. His haste caused Blair to lose his hat and dropped the deck case. "Whoa!" Jaden exclaimed when he turned around and saw Blair's long hair. "What the? You're…" Blair picked up his, or her hat and ran out, climbing down the tree. "Outta here."

"Hey you!" one of the Obelisks called out before Jaden had to the chance to get away.

"Take a wrong turn on the way to detention?" another said.

"Hey Zane, look who we caught hanging out in your room." The three of them and Zane noticed the latter's cards strewn on the ground.

"Not just hanging out, he was digging around in your cards. You got some nerve, Slifer."

"Oh, boy," Jaden said nervously. "Now look, it's not like that. See, there was this guy, well… girl really."

"Save it Slifer slacker."

"Alright! I'll just take off then. Later fellas." Unfortunately, they grabbed Jaden before he got to the tree.

"You're not going anywhere, buddy boy!"

"Except to Dr. Crowler's office."

"Oh, come on! Anyone but Dr. Crowler!" Jaden moaned.

"Ok, well just deal with you ourselves then."

"Dr. Crowler, help, help!"

As the three of them were dragging Jaden across the floor, Zane took note of the hairclip lying amidst his scattered cards and figured out what had happened. "Let him go."

"What?" the three Obelisks said in surprise.

"Wha?" Jaden was also confused by this.

"Do you want me to reconsider, Jaden? Or do you want to leave now?" Zane asked.

"Leaving sounds nice! Take care guys and let's not do this again some time!" He went out of the room and eventually joined up with Jeremy who had been waiting from afar, so as not to get caught again. "Hey Jeremy, you won't believe what just happened," he said, unaware that Blair was watching.

* * *

Night-time found Zane waiting at the docks by himself, though he was soon joined by Alexis and Christine. "Wow, a cold, wet dock in the middle of the night. You sure haven't forgotten how to show a girl a good time," Alexis said sarcastically.

Christine laughed lightly at this. "So, what's happening, Zane?" she asked.

"I caught Jaden snooping in my room today," he answered.

"Jaden? What on earth would he doing in your room?"

"I don't know. But I found this." He showed them a wooden barrette with a cute monster on it.

Alexis and Christine examined it for a second. "That's a girl's hair clip," Christine pointed out.

"How does this fit in?" Alexis inquired.

"It belongs to that new transfer student, Blair Flannigan, that moved in with the Slifers. She's a girl, but she's trying to pass off as a boy for some reason," the Obelisk boy explained.

"Wonder why?"

* * *

Syrus walked into him and his friends' room, drying his hair with a towel. "Okay Jaden, the outhouse, she's all yours." He then took note of the fact that Jaden wasn't to be seen. Only Jeremy and Chumley who were on their beds. "Where's Jaden?"

"Dunno," Chumley said. "Jeremy came in some time ago, but he's been sleeping pretty much since then," he indicated their friend who was off in dreamland. "But I haven't seen Jaden or Blair since they ran off. Course, I was kind of taking a nap most of the time. I hope everything's okay." Syrus then turned towards Jeremy and shook him a bit, causing him to sit up suddenly, which in turn cause him to jump back in fright.

"Wasa apnin wound ere?" He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and took note of Syrus. "Oh, hey Sy."

"What's going on?" he asked. Jeremy then went on to explain what had happened. From chasing after Blair to the Obelisk Blue boy's dorm, to Jaden sneaking in, and everything else. "So, Blair… is really a girl?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "I was going to say so sooner, but when Jaden and came back, I kinda fell asleep. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say Blair probably wanted to talk to him away from prying ears or something like that."

"Then let's go find them."

* * *

The three Slifer boys found Jaden and Blair at the edge of the water just as they seemed to be getting ready for a duel. "Finally, we found them," Chumley said.

The three of them sat down to watch. "I wonder why they'd be duelling," Jeremy thought aloud.

"Who knows?" Syrus said. "But then again, since when does Jaden really need a reason? Or you for that matter?"

"Fancy meeting you guys here." They three of them turned around to see Zane, Alexis and Christine standing by.

"Hey," Jeremy greeted them. "So what's going on with the blues?"

"Obelisk security camera's caught Blair sneaking in our dorm," Zane answered. "The also saw your duel against those two guys. Nice victory by the way."

"Thanks," Jeremy replied.

"However, one thing the cameras didn't show, was why she went through all this trouble," Alexis filled in.

"Really? I wonder how Jaden plans to solve that mystery?" Syrus wondered.

"Duel!" The Slifer and Obelisk students looked back down and saw Jaden and Blair standing across from each other with their disks at the ready.

Blair: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"Time to throw down!"

"Get ready," Blair said as she drew. "To fall in love. I summon Maiden in Love in attack mode." A young girl with long brown hair and a flowing yellow dress appeared on the field. (400)

"She's cute," Syrus commented. Chumley grumbled at this and the others simply kept their attention on the duel.

"My turn now!" Jaden looked over the card he drew and the rest of his hand. "So many choices. But I think I'll go with this guy, Elemental Hero Clayman." The stone warrior rose in front of Jaden at full height. (800) "Attack!"

"My poor helpless maiden," Syrus said sadly.

"Hey, who says she's yours?" Chumley responded.

"How about we let the monsters fight, okay guys?" Alexis suggested while Christine shook her head at their behaviour.

Jaden's Clayman charged forward and punched the maiden with one of his large fists. Despite such, she was only pushed back, but remained on the field.

Blair: 4000-3600

"You may have broken her heart, but she lives to love another day!" Blair said. "See, as long as she's in attack mode, her special ability keeps her from being destroyed in battle."

"Whoever said that girls weren't tough?" Jeremy wondered.

"Don't tell me you've gone nuts over her too?" Christine asked.

"I wasn't talking about just her," he replied.

Jaden looked to his side upon hearing his spirit monster. 'Hey Winged Kuriboh.' The furry spirit pointed to Blair's side of the field and Jaden was shocked to see his monster kneel beside the maiden. "What's going on here?"

"_My… my lady, are you alright?_" the stone warrior asked.

"_Maybe, maybe not,_" she replied while looking away.

"WHAT!" Jaden shrieked, surprised at this turn of events. "Clayman! Pull yourself together! You're supposed to be in attack mode, not in love!"

"It looks like we have some competition," Syrus noted to Chumley.

"Seriously Syrus, that maiden is still just a duel monster," Jeremy reminded him.

"But she's a good looking duel monster," he retaliated, at which Jeremy slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand before paying attention to the duel again.

"My monster is head over heels, can it get any worse?" Jaden asked as he looked at the field.

"Actually, it can, Jaden," Blair said with a smile. "Because Maiden in Love has another special ability too. Any monster that attacks her get's a maiden counter." The female monster blew a kiss towards Clayman, who's stone face showed signs of blushing as a small heart on his chest.

"A maiden counter? What's that?" Jaden inquired.

"You'll find out soon enough. Anyway, moving on." Blair drew and examined the cards she held. "Alright. I equip my maiden with Cupid's Kiss." A little boy with wings, a bow and a arrow with a heart shaped tip flew next to the maiden and kissed her on the cheek. "And now, I'll have her attack."

Jaden watched with an expression akin to horror as the maiden slowly ran towards his hero. "_Mister Clayman hero, come out, come out wherever you are. I wanna give you a hug_." Clayman was also surprised at this and stepped aside, causing the girl to fall to the ground. She got up and look at him with sadness in her eyes. "_Why did you do that? You're so mean._" She placed her face into her hands and cried.

"_My lady_," Clayman said as he knelt down. "_Please forgive me. I'm so sorry_."

The maiden smiled and blew him a kiss again. "_Okay._" He then held out a hand, helped her up and walked her over to Blair's field.

"Come on!" Jaden exclaimed. "Gimme a break!"

"What's up with Jaden's monster?" Jeremy wondered.

"_Now how about you do me a little favour, mister hero?_" she asked sweetly.

"_Anything for you,_" he answered in a love struck voice.

"_Take him down,_" she pointed at Jaden.

"_Done!_" He then rushed forward and threw a transparent punch at Jaden.

"Clayman! Are you nuts?" Jaden asked. "Come on, snap out of it. Can't you see she's just using you?"

"She can use me anytime!" Syrus said.

'I never felt this way without a grill cheese around,' Chumley thought to himself.

"Sorry Jaden, but when maiden takes damage from a monster with a maiden counter, Cupid's Kiss activates. And that automatically let's me take control of your monster. Sure it costs, me some points, but it's about to cost you a lot more."

Blair: 3600-3200

Jaden: 4000-3200

"Well now that I've taken control of your only monster, I guess I'll just play a face-down card to end my turn."

"Man… Clayman's fallen in love, and I'm falling behind." He looked at the card he just drew and saw that it was Avian. 'Avian…' Jaden looked back at the maiden standing next to his monster. 'But if I attack, he'll fall for that maiden like Clayman did. Still, I've gotta do something.' "I summon Elemental Hero Avian." The winged hero rose on Jaden's field. (1000) "I hate to do it Clayman, but you're either with me or against."

"That's it Jaden, show no mercy!" Jeremy cheered.

"Avian, attack Clayman with Quill Cascade." Avian flapped his wings, creating a gust that travelled towards the stone hero.

"Don't think so!" Blair interrupted. "I play Defense Maiden." The maiden stepped in front of Clayman, taking the attack for him. "You see, it redirect's Avian's attack, so that the Maiden in Love get's hit instead of Clayman. And you know what that means…"

Blair: 3200-2600

The maiden fell to her knees after the attack stopped. Clayman stared at his supposed ally. "_Avian, how dare you strike a defenseless maiden? For shame Avian, for shame!_"

Avian clutched the sides of his head and cried a little. "_You're right. I'm so sorry! I beg for you to forgive me! Please, I'll do anything, anything!_"

"_Anything?_" she asked. "_Well, nothing comes to mind now, but I'm sure I'll think of something later,_" she said, then winked at him.

"_Simply say the word, my darling,_" Avian appeared overjoyed as a pink heart appeared on his chest.

Blair smiled upon seeing Jaden's distraught expression. "And she will, now that he's pegged with a maiden counter."

"I want one!" Syrus said. "How do I get a maiden counter?"

"Yeah, me too, I want one too!" Chumley agreed.

"Uh… guys? I hope you can remember that it's just a card you're looking at," Alexis said.

"They probably won't," Christine commented. "At least, not until a while after the duel over."

"Try and remember who you're talking too." Zane had the shadow of a smile on his face. "When we were younger, Sy claimed that he was going steady with Dark Magician Girl."

"Is that so?" Alexis asked. "She break your heart Sy? Or did you just decide to see other monsters?"

"Umm, well…" he tried to respond.

"That's it!" Jeremy exclaimed loudly. "Syrus, Chumley, you're supposed to be cheering for Jaden! Not ogling the girl in the dress!" The two of them redirected their attention towards the duel in general, rather than the maiden, for the moment.

"Here I go," Blair announced. "I activate the equip spell card, Aphrodite's Blessing." The maiden changed into a beautiful woman with elegant blond hair and a flowing pink dress. "Thanks to this, once per turn, I can immediately gain control of one of your monsters with a maiden counter." The matured maiden beckoned Avian over with her finger. Stunned by her, he could but obey.

"Please tell me it doesn't get any worse," Jaden moaned.

"Actually, it does. Because now my maiden gains attack points equal to half those of the monster I now control." (400-900)

"Oh boy, this ain't looking good," Jeremy commented. "Least not for Jaden."

"No kidding," Christine agreed. "Not only did she gain control of Jaden's monster and power up her maiden, but she hasn't even attacked yet."

"Okay Jaden, get ready to lose big. Avian, Clayman, Maiden, attack him directly." The maiden gave the word, and the two heroes attacked the Slifer boy. Avian with by creating wind with his wings and Clayman by charging him with a shoulder tackle. The maiden herself blew a flurry of little hearts at Jaden which popped like bubbles upon contact. Blair then took off her hat and bandana, allowing for her hair to flow loosely. "Sorry Jaden, but you'll never be able to beat me. I'm dueling for love."

Jaden: 3200-900

"Well I'll be, Blair really is a girl," Chumley said.

"Did she say dueling for love? Doesn't she mean dueling with love?"

"Don't tell me you haven't figured it out already," Alexis said. "Think about it Zane. She puts on a disguise, tricks her way into our school, breaks into your room…"

"She's in love," Syrus realized.

"Big time," Christine added. "She's in love with you, Zane."

Winged Kuriboh cooed to Jaden as he got up. "Yeah, you're right. Putting two guys against her maiden wasn't too smart. But, what's done it done. Not much I can do about it now." Jaden drew his card and compared it with the other cards he had. "Or is there? Of course, it's so obvious! If I'm gonna take on that Maiden in Love, I need a woman's touch. And I have just the one, Elemental Hero Burstinatrix." The red clad female hero appeared in a flash of fire. (1200)

"Looks like Jaden has something going here," Jeremy commented.

"_Burstinatrix!_" Clayman and Avian cried out. "_We know this looks bad, but…_"

"_Save it!_" she interrupted. "_You two are pathetic! But your honeymoon is about to be over._"

"_We're in for it now,_" Avian moaned.

"You go Burstinatrix. Now check this out. I activate the spell card, Burst Impact. I can only play this when I have Burstinatrix on the field. It destroys all other monsters and deals 300 points of damage to both players for each destroyed monster they controlled."

The two male heroes cowered as Burstinatrix gathered a large ball of fire in both her hands. "_Please, you don't have to do this!_" they tried to persuade to stay her move.

"S_orry guys, but this is for your own good. You'll thank me later. You on the other hand…_" she spoke to the maiden, "_I won't be saying that I'll miss you._" She then released the fireball, causing an explosion that blew apart the three monsters.

Blair: 2600-1700

"Then I activate Monster Reborn, so come on back, Avian." The hero of air reappeared on Jaden's field, happier to be beside his fire counterpart than the maiden. (1000) "Now this is the perfect couple. And this is the perfect attack. Quill Cascade and Flare Storm." The two heroes combined their powers, creating a fiery twister that struck Blair and took out her remaining life-points. She dropped to her knees in defeat.

Blair: 1700-0

"That's game!" Jaden said as the holograms faded. "Thanks for the sweet duel Blair. That was fun!"

"Alright, guess I have to tell you my secret now."

"Nah, I learned more than enough from our duel. And I think our spectators learned a few things too." Blair turned around and saw the three Obelisks and Slifers who'd been watching.

"Sure did," Alexis said. "Love is on her mind Zane."

Blair got up at this. "Zane! You're here." A blush tinted her cheeks. "Well then, I guess you know… I'm the one who snuck into your dorm room, not Jaden. I've been in love with you ever since I met you."

Zane nodded to her. "At nationals…"

"Yeah, that's right! We met right after you won the championship. It was then I made a pledge, that I would do anything to be with you."

"Aww, that's cute," Syrus commented

"I remember that you said if I trained hard enough, I could get into Duel Academy like you, so I did! And now that I'm here," she opened her arms wide and smiled, "we can get married!"

Zane took a step back in uncertainty while Jeremy and Jaden laughed at this. "Get married? That's a good one!" the latter commented. "Your honeymoon can be in the cafeteria and Dr. Crowler can give you away!"

"I wasn't joking," she told him.

"Blair sweetie," Alexis said with a small smile. "Love doesn't work that way. You can't sneak your way into somebody's heart. Just look what happened to your maiden. She used tricks to get love and ended up alone and in tears. You can't use use spells or disguises to find your soul mate. You have to be honest and upfront with them."

"Yeah right!" she replied. "You just want Zane all for yourself! You're trying to get rid of me!"

Christine chuckled at the look of embarrassment on her friend's face. "Zane, a little help here?"

"Blair, as flattered as I am by your affections… right now I'm only in love with one thing, dueling."

"Dueling?" she asked as Zane reached in his pocket and pulled out the barrette she'd lost and gave it back.

"I'm sorry, but it's time for you to go home."

"Wait! Why does she have to go home?" Jaden stepped in. "Cause you say so? Hello! She's a student at Duel Academy and a good one!"

"Jaden, she has to go home."

"Oh… I see. You're pushing her out because she's a good student. Because you're scared she might dethrone you." The others, except Zane and Blair chuckled a bit at this.

"She has to go home because she's in second grade."

Jaden stopped laughing and his face blanched. "Say what?"

"Really?" Syrus asked.

"So you're saying, that I almost lost to a girl who's only eight years old?" Jeremy laughed hysterically as his friend sunk to his knees.

Blair stuck out her tongue at him and smiled. "Eight and a half, if it makes you feel any better."

Jaden fell to the ground, laughing at the whole situation. "That's dueling's so great. If you're old enough to draw, you're old enough to win."

* * *

The following day, they all stood at the docks to watch Blair leave on the boat. "Good bye!" she called out and waved at them. "I'll be back just as soon as I finish grade school, and middle school too. But I'll be back!"

Jeremy laughed at this. "Hear that Zane?"

"Oh please. I'll be long gone by the time she get's here."

"That's true," Jaden said. "I guess Blair's crush ends right here."

Zane chuckled. "I wouldn't be so sure."

"Goodbye Jaden, my sweet prince! I love you!" she yelled as the boat as the boat made it further away.

"WHAT! But… she's supposed to like Zane!" he said with a look of complete shock.

"She does like Zane, but apparently she loves you," Alexis said while barely repressing a giggle.

"Good luck," Zane muttered as he walked away with Alexis.

At this point, Jeremy was laughing so hard at his friend that he ended up rolling on the ground. "Ok Jeremy, you can stop laughing at the poor guy." Christine bent down and pulled him up by the ear.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" he cried out. "Ok! I give up! Just let go and I'll do anything you say!"

"Anything?" she asked with interest.

"Yes, anything!"

"Well… alright then." She let him go and he massaged his ear. "Just so you know, I'm holding to you your word."

Jeremy looked almost scared. "You're… serious about this?"

"Yep. I'll let you know when I have need for you." She then walked away and left him with his friends.

It was now Jaden who was laughing at his friend. "Ooo, she got you good there!"

"I'm blaming this on you Jaden!"

"Yeah, yeah. Why don't we go back to the dorm until Christine call's upon you?" Syrus and Chumley looked at each other and shrugged as they saw Jeremy chase Jaden away from the docks.

* * *

Hope you liked it and if you don't mind dropping a review, it'd be fun!

Cards I invented:

**Aphrodite's Blessing **(based off of the figure in greek mythology)  
Equip Spell  
Effect: Equip only to a 'Maiden in Love' you control. Take control of an opponent's monster with a maiden counter once per turn and increase the attack points of 'Maiden in Love' by half those of your opponent's monster.  
Image: A beautiful woman with elegant blond hair and a flowing pink dress

**Six Samurai Apprentice  
**Atk/Def: 900/1400  
Attr: Earth  
Type: Warrior  
Lv: 3  
Effect: This card cannot be normal summoned or set. You can only special summon this card by playing it in face-up defense mode on your opponent's field. The controller of this card loses 300 life-points during their opponent's end phase for each 'six samurai' monster their opponent controls and 400 for every 'shien' effect monster. If you special summon this card, you cannot normal summon or set in the same turn.  
Image: A teenage boy with green robes, black hair tied in a top knot and wearing brown leather armor on his arms, legs and chest. He carries a long hunting knife in his left hand.

**Next chapter: **Three students are chosen to battle it out for the right to represent Duel Academy against North Academy. Part 1


	25. The Duel Off Part 1

Disclaimer: Yugioh Gx belongs to people that are not me.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**The Duel Off – Part 1**

It was another sunny day at Duel Academy. The weather was perfect with only a few clouds that were too thin to have any chance for rain. Down at the docks, a bunch of workmen were unloading boxes from a boat, under the supervision of Ms. Dorothy. "Keep it moving fellas, keep it moving. Booster packs go there, starter decks go there," she said as she directed them. She briefly turned her attention to the water, thinking that she had seen something, but resumed her initial task. "Let's go!" she snapped at the now still workers. "This isn't break time! Move it, move it, move it!"

* * *

Not too far from where Dorothy had been looking at, a shadow emerged from underneath the water, revealing a man in a diving suit. He climbed onto a rock and removed his diving equipment shaking dry his longish brown hair. "There it is," he said as he looked at the academy's main building. "The scoop of a life time, Duel Academy. Now let's go and see what kind of dirt I can dig up, of the story that will make me my fortune."

* * *

"Are you out of your mind!" Crowler cried out. He, along with six other staff members and Chancellor Sheppard were sitting at a round table, holding a discussion regarding the upcoming school duel. Zane was also in the same room, while standing aside. "The school duel between Duel Academy and North Academy is the biggest match of the year! We can take no chances. So, it's clear that Zane must be our rep."

"Zane is our best," Sheppard agreed. "But he's a third year student, and North Academy is using a first year student."

"Why would they do that?" Crowler asked.

"Who knows? But in the spirit of competition, I think we should use a first year student as well. You understand, don't you Zane?"

"Of course, Chancellor."

"Well then, the only question is who this first year will be."

"Jaden Yuki," Zane said.

Crowler almost squealed at this. "What!"

"Chancellor, Jaden will make Duel Academy proud. Trust me, I'm sure of it."

"I would also like to suggest a potential candidate," Banner spoke up. "Jeremy Wheeler." Crowler let out an 'eep' upon hearing this. "Along with Jaden, Jeremy is our best new student. Don't you agree, Pharaoh?" The cat in question simply meowed at response.

"Well, if the cat says so," Crowler spoke up.

"Well then, that's settled, unless someone else has a better idea, then Jeremy and Jaden will duel for the right to represent."

Crowler was seething with rage. 'Those two good for nothing Slifer slackers! Every time they do well, it makes me look bad. We can't possibly have a measly kid in red representing us. There has got to be a better choice.' "Wait, I have it. Bastion Misawa. He should represent us."

"From Ra Yellow?"

"Yes, he's far more qualified and he tested higher than any other first year. It's only fair chancellor."

"Well… how about we arrange a three way duel off? Each student will duel the other once. The one with the most victories will be our rep." Zane gave a small nod of approval at this. "Ok then, that's how it's going to be."

* * *

Elsewhere in the academy, the diver, now sporting a black jacket, jeans and blue shirt was sneaking through the halls, attempting to remain unseen. Looking around, he went into a side door and came into a room with lockers. He opened one at random and found a Slifer Red Jacket. "Oh well, gotta blend in."

* * *

Later on, Banner was standing in front of his class, just having told Jeremy, Jaden and Bastion that'd they'd been chosen to duel for the right to face against North Academy. "Really?" Jaden asked.

"You're not joking?" Jeremy added.

"No, not at all. The three of you will duel each other in order to decide who will represent Duel Academy in the school Duel against North Academy. Jaden will duel Bastion, then Bastion will Duel Jeremy, and Jeremy will duel Jaden. The one with the most victories will be our representative." Jaden and Jeremy smiled at each other and Bastion. "I look forward to a trio of exiting matches."

The class went by quickly and Jaden, Jeremy, Bastion, Syrus and Chumley stayed back to hang out briefly. "Alright! One of you guys might actually be in the school duel," Syrus said.

"No Slifer's ever been there before. You'd make Duel Academy history," Chumley added.

"Well guys, I guess may the best man win, huh?"

"Best deck," Bastion said. "And I assure you both, that deck will be mine. You see, I've been formulating two new separate set of cards to defeat you and your monsters ever since my duel with Chazz."

"So, how's it coming along?" Jeremy asked.

"Neither one is quite finished yet," Bastion admitted. "But they will be soon."

"Well, till then." Bastion bumped fists with Jaden and Jeremy before leaving them with their friends.

"Bastion's designed two whole decks just to duel you guys," Syrus said.

"I don't know if you should be really honored, or really scared," Chumley added.

"Well guys, I guess we'll find out when we throw down."

"Yeah, and I guess we'll finally face off against each other," Jeremy said.

"You got it. This is gonna be so sweet!"

The four Slifers walked out of the classroom. As they were going through the halls, they noticed a taller guy in red getting pushed aside by an Obelisk Boy. "What's going on here?" they overheard. "Why won't anyone talk to me?"

"I don't remember seeing that guy around," Syrus spoke up. "He must be new. Uhh, guys," he said when they walked up to him.

"Hey, what's up?" Jaden greeted. The guy in question turned to face them and laughed nervously.

"What's shaking, dude?" Jeremy asked.

"You're old," Jaden commented. "Really old. How can you be a Slifer?"

"Well, the thing about that is…"

"That's okay, it's cool," Jaden said. "So it took you a while to get accepted here. Don't be ashamed, there's nothing wrong with that."

"By the way, I'm Jeremy," he introduced himself. "And these guys are Jaden, Syrus and Chumley."

"Nice meeting you," the others greeted him.

"Now come on old timer," Jaden spoke up. "Why don't you let us show you around?" He then followed up the question by dragging him away.

"Not running," Chumley complained.

* * *

After having shown him a couple places, including the card shack, where Jaden and Jeremy bought themselves a couple of packs, they all went down to the Slifer dorm, more specifically, the cafeteria. The five of them were now sitting at one of the tables, each with a tray of food in front of them. The new guy merely stared at his food while Jaden and Jeremy's chopsticks were zooming back and forth between their mouths and trays. "Yum, deelish," Jaden commented. "You better hurry up or you won't be able to get seconds."

"Seconds?" he said hesitantly.

"Or thirds," Jeremy added. "And if you're really hungry, you might even have fourths."

"Yeah. They were going to install a garbage disposal, but Jaden and Jeremy solved that problem," Syrus said.

"I see. Well then…" Getting over his hesitation, he dug into his food.

* * *

Once they were all finished, they went up to their room, along with the new guy. Jaden and Jeremy sat in opposite corners with their cards on the floor. The reason for this being that they didn't want the other to see what they were doing with their decks, in order to keep it a surprise until the next day. "You're decks are looking good guys," Syrus commented.

"Looks like both of you are ready for some major action," Chumley added.

"Still, I wonder what kind of cards Bastion's gonna use."

"Dunno, but it sounds like he put a lot of time and brain juice into it."

"Nervous?"

"Who, me?" Jeremy asked.

"No way, I'm excited," Jaden said as he put his cards back together. "There, all done."

"Exited?"

"For some sweet duels. My cards are rearing to go."

"And so are mine," Jeremy said as he finished with his own deck.

"You guys never worry."

'And I'll never get my story by just hanging out with these twerps,' the new guy thought to himself. He then noticed one of Jaden's cards still on the floor. He reached down and picked it up. 'Skyscraper.' He frowned as he recognized the card in question. 'The card that ruined dueling for me.'

"Hey! You cool old timer?" Jaden asked.

"Stop it with that!" he snapped. "My name is Gerard!" His face blanched as he realized what he'd said. 'I told them my real name!" he berated himself.

"Cool!" Jaden said, not having noticed his expression. "Gerard it is. Hey, Skyscraper," he noticed. "You like that card too?"

"No way. You'd have to like dueling first."

"So, if you don't like dueling, then what're you doing here?" Syrus asked.

Gerard sweat dropped at this, though none of them saw it because he had his head turned. "Ah well, what I meant is… I don't like it cause I'm not really good at it."

"Same here," Chumley said. "Not that I don't like dueling, it's just that I'm not all that good at it. But that's changing. See, once I started hanging out with these guys, I saw how they duel and it totally changed my life."

"Hey Gerard, maybe if you watch Jaden and Jeremy's duels, you'll start to like dueling more, like Chumley. The perfect match is coming, their duel against each other."

"Sure, we'll see."

"So, Gerard," Jeremy spoke up. "What kind of deck do you use then?"

"Well… I used to run a six samurai deck once."

"Really? That's too cool. If you want any tips about em, then you're looking at the best samurai duelist on the island," he said proudly.

"Umm, Jeremy?" Syrus interrupted. "You do realize that you're also the only person at the academy who actually uses a six samurai deck?" Jeremy slumped down at his friend's words.

'I'm done with dueling anyway,' Gerard thought to himself. 'These kids should just mind their own business. Wait! Seeing as they like to pry, maybe they can help me with my story.' "So… you guys. Just wondering, do you know anything about a rumor floating around? Where kids go missing?"

"Does he mean the abandoned dorm?" Jaden wondered.

"Abandoned dorm?"

"It's this run down place at the end of the island where kids have apparently gone missing," Jeremy explained.

"Yeah. We kind of wandered inside it once. Very strange place," Jaden commented.

"And I'd like to put an emphasis on the word strange. Anyway. Hey guys, wanna play Crazy Racers?" Jeremy said, referring to the video game he'd gotten at Christmas.

"I think I'll just go take a walk outside."

"Ok then." Gerard left them behind as they started up the game. Not too long afterwards, Jeremy's cry of victory could be heard as he beat Jaden.

* * *

Alexis stood in front of the abandoned dorm with Christine. "Be at peace brother, wherever you are," the blond girl said as set down a rose before the gate. "Take care."

"Don't worry Alexis, I'm sure you'll see him again soon enough," her friend comforted her.

They both turned around when they heard branches rustling and spotted Gerard coming their way. "Well, hello there."

"Hi," Alexis responded. "Do I know you?"

"Uhh, yeah. I've seen you around. Look, I've heard some students have gone missing here. You two wouldn't happen to know anything about any of them, would you?"

"Why do you wanna know?" Christine asked with suspicion on her face.

"You know, I'm just curious. That's all."

"Yeah, well you can stay curious," Alexis said with a fringe of anger in her voice. "Listen, those missing students aren't for your amusement. You should just mind your own business! Got it?"

"Come on, Lex. Let's just leave him be." The two Obelisk girls then walked away.

"Oookay. Dunno what her problem is, but I know I'm not giving up. I'm gonna get this story anyway." He then pulled out a thin camera and started clicking.

* * *

In the Ra Yellow dorm, Bastion was sitting in his room at his computer desk. He had several windows opened up, with information about Jaden and Jeremy's decks, styles of dueling and other such stuff. "Countless equations," he muttered to himself. "He myriad of theorems, yet still, I haven't quite solved the problems that are, Jaden and Jeremy's decks."

He opened up a window showing an image of the first six samurai. "Ah yes, the six samurai. Zanji and Irou, they can automatically destroy any monsters they attack. And then there's Yaichi and Kamon, who can take out an opponent's spell and traps cards. Even when he has only one or none of his samurais, Jeremy is known for being able to summon them out rapidly. With that, he can quickly take the advantage. I'd need to take out his monsters somehow and prevent him from swarming the field.

Bastion had a thoughtful expression on his face as he searched for an answer. "Interesting," he said as he came across a couple specific cards. "With this one I could stop him from summoning monsters too fast. And these would help wipe his field clean. And then this one could help too. Along with a few other cards, this is the perfect way to defeat Jeremy." He made a list of all the cards he would place in that specific deck and turned towards Jaden's cards.

"Now, let's see here. Ah yes, the Flame Wingman," he said as he brought up an image of the named monster. "Whenever he destroys a monster, that monster's attack points come out of its owner's life-points. To stop him, I'll have to stop Burstinatrix and Avian before they can fuse. Of course, there's still Thunder Giant. His effect lets him destroy a monster with up to 2400 attack points on the turn he's summoned. To stop him, I'll need to take out Sparkman and Clayman before they can fuse."

"I could use the same card I'd use against Jeremy, but then that would be too much of an impediment to me. And if I try building a deck to counter those monsters separately, that would leave too much to chance. There must be a better way to neutralize the threat, some strategy to stop those fusion monsters."

He deliberated on this for a moment, before receiving a flow of inspiration. "Wait a second!" He quickly typed in a few commands on his keyboard. "That's it! It's so obvious. With this, my victory is assured."

* * *

The next morning, Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley were sitting down for breakfast. The brunette and blond Slifers were wolfing down the meal like they usually were, while their friends ate with a touch more moderation. "This stuff's so good!" Jaden said. "The hard part, is remembering to chew, before you swallow."

"That explains why were missing so many forks!" Syrus exclaimed.

"Wava mada fy?" Jeremy swallowed his mouthful and corrected himself. "What's the matter Sy?"

"Just don't stuff yourselves guys."

"What's wrong Syrus?" Jaden asked.

"You're being very anti lishus," Chumley commented.

"That may be, but if they're gonna do well today, they need to be a pair of lean, mean dueling machines. After all, Bastion's been training weeks for this match-up. You two have trained what, an hour?"

"Between the two of us, maybe," Jeremy answered.

"Look Sy, we all have our own ways of training. Bastion's is just different," Jaden said.

"I guess you're right," he admitted. "By the way, where'd that guy Gerard go? I haven't seen him."

"Dunno, but his lunch, is mine."

"I call the fish," Jeremy spoke up.

"Then I get the rice."

* * *

Further along in the day, the students and staff members found themselves in the main arena. Jaden and Bastion found themselves on opposite ends of the platform, with Crowler in the middle. "Duelists, it's time to find out who will represent out most illustrious academy in the annual school duel." The crowd cheered at this. "And now, for the first of three duels. Introducing first, from the Ra dorm, Bastion Misawa." Cheers rose from the people around. "And then, from Slifer, some kid."

"You go Jaden!" Jeremy shouted, despite the poor introduction from Crowler's part.

"Here we go. Good luck Bastion."

"I appreciate the sentiment. But with the deck I've prepared, I don't need luck."

"Yeah, we'll see about that."

"You can do it Jaden. This is what you trained for, or didn't," Syrus said.

"It'll be instincts vs. intelligence here," Zane commented from his spot high up, where he was accompanied by Alexis and Christine.

"I guess. Who cares?"

"Alexis?" Christine looked at her friend.

"I mean, yeah. It'll be good."

* * *

In the meantime, Gerard was sneaking through the empty halls by himself. "Alright, while everyone's distracted with this duel, I'll be able to get more dirt on those missing kids." A few brief memories of Jaden and Jeremy flashed through his mind, to which he shook his head, as if to get rid of them. "And get those other kids, Jaden and Jeremy, and their duels, out of my head." He made his way through the hall until he went through a door that brought him to the library. He sat down before one of the computers and started it up. Taking out his own portable computer, he plugged it into the jack and let it work out the password.

* * *

Back at the arena, the duel was just about to begin. "Now, without any further ado, let the duel begin!" Crowler announced, before stepping off the stage.

"Get your game on!"

"Let's duel."

Jaden: 4000

Bastion: 4000

"My move," Bastion said as he drew his sixth card. "I summon Carboneddon, in defense mode." A gray, metallic and dragon like creature crouched down in front of Bastion. (600) "That's all for now."

"A brand new deck and Carboneddon is all you can bust out?" Jaden said. "Hey, whatever works for you. Now, I play Burstinatrix in attack mode." The red clad female hero stood tall on the Slifer's field. (1200)

'Just one turn and already Jaden has half the equation to summon his favorite monster, the Flame Wingman,' Bastion thought to himself. "Off to a good start there."

"Yeah, sure am. And I've got news for you, it only gets better. Burstinatrix, attack." The fiery woman dove at the opposing monster and connected with a flame covered fist. "Next I'll throw down a face-down and call it a turn."

"You don't waste any time," Bastion remarked. "I like that." 'Here it is, the card that will win me this duel,' he thought as he saw the card he'd just drawn. 'But first…' "I summon Oxygeddon in attack mode." The winged green dinosaur let out a cry as it appeared. (1800) "Now attack!"

"Think again, I've got a trap, Hero Barrier. With this card, so long as I have an Elemental Hero on the field, I can negate one of your attacks." A barrier of bright blue light appeared in front of Jaden's monster, blocking the stream of air from Oxygeddon's mouth. "Sorry Bastion, but Burstinatrix isn't busted just yet."

"Well played Jaden. Of course, I'd expect no less." 'Still, when I activate this card, it won't matter how well you play.' "I'll go ahead and end with a face-down."

"Alright then. I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman, in attack mode." The gold and blue electric hero rose next to his fire counterpart. (1600) "And I equip him with the spell, Spark Blaster." A ball of electricity appeared in Sparkman's hand, which then turned into his weapon. "Now I can change the battle mode of any monster on the field. So Oxygeddon's gonna have to switch to defense mode." The dinosaur dropped to the ground with its wings folded when it was hit by the shot fired. (800) "And now Burstinatrix can take him out. Go, Magma Comet." The female hero gathered a large fireball and hurled it at the defending monster.

Yet the fire didn't destroy it instantly, but rather enveloped it. "Whoops, looks like someone has forgotten their chemistry," Bastion said. "See, fire and oxygen, they don't mix, Jaden. So when Oxygeddon is destroyed in battle by a fire monster, it doesn't just take a toll on my life-points, but on yours as well." The monster then exploded in a blast of fire which swept across both ends of the field.

Jaden: 4000-3200

Bastion: 4000-3200

"Sweet move," Jaden commented. "Your monster's effect cost us both there. But I'd do it all over again. Know why? Cause now your field's empty, which means my Sparkman can attack you directly." Sparkman shot a stream of electricity from his empty hand at Bastion.

Bastion: 3200-1600

"Totally Lishus!" Chumley exclaimed.

"Way to play Jaden!" Syrus cheered.

"Wicked moves," Jeremy added.

"Zane was right about that boy," Sheppard commented to Banner. "He's quite a duelist."

"It's true. We teach those Slifers well, when they don't ditch class."

Crowler was freaking out at this moment. 'Why did I open my big mouth and nominate Bastion for this event! He's getting creamed, I'm getting humiliated, and worst of all, Jaden is looking better than ever!'

"Sorry bout that Bastion," Jaden said. "Guess it's back to the drawing board if your want to beat my deck."

"No Jaden, I think not. You see, I've already beaten it. Now it's simply a matter of showing all of my work. So, let's get back into the fray, shall we? It's my turn. And I'm going to summon Hydrogeddon in attack mode." A geyser of brown water erupted on Bastion's field, from which emerged the watery dinosaur. (1600) "Now, Hydrogeddon, attack Burstinatrix." The Ra's monster shot a blast of muddy water from its mouth which struck and destroyed Jaden's red hero.

Jaden: 3200-2800

"Next I'll activate Hydrogeddon's ability. You see, whenever he destroys a monster in battle, it allows me to summon another one. And I happen to have one right here in my deck." A copy of the same monster appeared beside the first. (1600) "Now I'll play and equip spell, Living Fossil. I can now summon one monster from my graveyard, so long as I equip it with this. And the monster I'll bring back is, Oxygeddon. Rise again old friend." The green monster reappeared between Bastion's other two. (1800) "Of course, fossil lowers his attack points and negates his special ability." (1800-800) "But it's worth it."

"Yeah, now he's got three monsters," Syrus pointed out.

"And a strange smirk on his face," Chumley noted.

"Something's coming up," Jeremy muttered.

"Now it gets good. I activate the spell card, Bonding H2O. You see Jaden, when I bond two Hydrogeddons and one Oxygeddon, they do the exact same thing as that two hydrogen and one oxygen do, they become water. Or in this case, the all powerful Water Dragon." The three monsters swirled around each other until they formed the long serpentine Water Dragon. (2800)

"That's not good," Jaden said.

"Incredible," Syrus commented.

"Where's the bathroom?"

"This isn't time for a bathroom break, Chum," Jeremy said.

"That's one impressive monster," Sheppard remarked.

"Yes, and one impressive move," Banner agreed. "Aye, this will be tough."

"I knew it was a good idea for me to nominate Bastion for this match." Crowler laughed gleefully to himself. "He's looking magnificent, I'm looking brilliant, and best of all, Jaden looks like a complete fool."

"It's your move Jaden," Bastion said. 'And if you plan to take on my Water Dragon, there's only one move you can make. And it's the one I've been waiting for.'

"How's Jaden gonna take down that thing? His Sparkman doesn't have nearly enough attack points."

"Dunno Sy," Jeremy admitted. "But I'm sure he has something ready to bust out."

"Well Bastion, it's like they always say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. So here I go. Sweet!" Jaden exclaimed as he saw the card he drew. "Alright, you got one of your best monsters out, so allow me to summon on up one of mine. Now, I may not now as much chemistry as you do, but I can still mix it up. I play Polymerization, and fuse together Avian and Bubbleman with Sparkman. All to create, the one and only Elemental Hero Tempest."

"I don't think so, Jaden. Go, trap card, Non-Fusion Area," Bastion announced as his face-down flipped up. "And as long as this card's in play, neither of us can fusion summon any monsters in any way whatsoever."

"What!" Jaden exclaimed with surprise evident on his face.

"That's right. With my trap, you can't use any of your fusion monsters. No Flame Wingman, no Thunder Giant, none of them."

"No fusions? But that's how Jaden wins all his duels," Syrus spoke up.

"Well, this is a lock-down if I've ever seen one." The three Slifers turned around and saw Erik in the seat behind them.

"Hey Erik, didn't see you there," Jeremy greeted him. He simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Compute it any which way you like, the answer will always come out the same," Bastion spoke to Jaden. "This duel's over, you can't win."

* * *

Back at the library, Gerard was still sitting at the computer while attempting to access the information necessary to write his story. "If I can just crack this password, I'll be able to access all of Duel Academy's student files." The computer made a positive sound as the correct password came up. "Got it." He brought up one of the files, showing an image of an Obelisk boy with a certain resemblance to Alexis. "Atticus Rhodes," he read. "Studying abroad on special sabbatical."

He browsed through a bunch of other files. All of them had, 'Studying abroad on special sabbatical' written down as well. "Now this is strange, there's no forwarding address. I don't buy it. These must be the missing students, and the academy must be trying to cover it up. I smell a front page scandal, plus a major payday for the reporter who breaks the story." He started to download the information onto a flash drive. "Thanks for the scoop, Duel Academy. And good luck surviving all the bad publicity."

* * *

"Face it Jaden, with your fusion monsters neutralized, and my Water Dragon on the field, you and your monsters are about to be all washed up," Bastion taunted his Slifer opponent.

"I can't watch," Syrus moaned.

"It's not all bad," Chumley reminded him. "Jaden still has more life-points."

"He'll find a way out of this," Jeremy added. Erik remained silent, yet continued to watch with interest.

"Come on Jaden, fight back," Alexis said.

"Well, perhaps we underestimated Bastion," Zane commented. "He's been playing this like a pro. After all, with just one card, he's practically disarmed Jaden's deck."

"He's just taken away Jaden's ability to use fusions monsters," she pointed out. "That's all."

"But that might be enough," Christine said. "After all, fusion monsters are the core of an Elemental Hero deck."

"That's it Bastion!" Crowler cheered. "Show this Slifer slacking sludge who's boss. Show him he doesn't belong in the school duel!"

"This does not look good, doesn't it, Pharaoh?" Banner's cat simply meowed in response.

"My turn," Jaden announced. "First, I'll switch Sparkman to defense mode." The electric hero went down to one knee. (1400) "Then I'll summon Avian in defense as well." Jaden's winged green hero appeared on his field, in the same position as his ally. (1000) "And I'll leave it at that."

"Not much to do when you've been stripped of the ability to use your favorite monsters, hey Jaden?"

"Wrong, there's loads to do, like finding a new plan. It'll be tough, but I'm up for it. And then Bastion, it'll be all the sweeter, when I win."

"Yes, when you win. Well, we have nothing if not our dreams I suppose, however far fetched. Now, let's get on with the duel, shall we? I play, the Mathematician, in attack mode." A short man with small spectacles, a long white beard and moustache and holding a cane in one hand appeared on Bastion's field. He wore gray robes the fell to the floor, oversized shoes and a square black hat. (1500) "You see, when this card is summoned, I must send one card from my deck to the graveyard. But then, should he be destroyed in battle, I can draw one card. Of course, none of that is very pressing right this moment, what with my Water Dragon about to surge into action." The blue monster spat out a stream of water that crushed Sparkman. "And now, Mathematician attacks you hero Avian. Number Cruncher." The old man shot a purple beam lined with numbers which collided with the defending hero.

"Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse," Syrus said.

"Not lishus."

* * *

Having finished up with his business in the library, Gerard was walking away through the hallway by himself. 'Now that I have records of those missing students, I'll be able to sell my story for a fortune. Sure, the scandal will probably ruin Duel Academy, but, oh well.' Again, images of Jaden and Jeremy flashed through his mind. 'Why can't I just forget about those kids?' His attention was caught by cheers coming from the arena. Deciding to check it out, he made his way there and looked around, his attention focusing on the duel in the middle. "Well how bout that, it's one of the duels those Slifers wanted me to see. Where my life's supposed to change. And it seems Jaden is losing."

"Well, my turn's done, Jaden. So, if you still plan on beating me, feel free to go ahead and do your worst."

"You bet I will. Cause my duel's just started."

"Is it?"

"Yep. You see, we're different. You make all you're moves at home, I do mine on the field."

"That's right!" Syrus said.

"Jaden plays with his gut," Chumley pitched in.

"Just the same as you," Erik told Jeremy.

"Yeah, I guess we are alike in that way," he agreed.

"Alright, where were we? First, I'm gonna summon Bubbleman in attack mode." The blue armored water hero stood in a stance with his fists in front of him. (800) "Now when I summon him and I have no other cards in play, that's a good thing. Know why? Cause I get to draw two cards. And one of them I'll play right now. The equip spell, Bubble Blaster." The hero kneeled down as his bazooka like weapon appeared on his shoulder. "This give Bubbleman 800 more attack points." (800-1600) "Now attack his Mathematician." He fired off a stream of bubbles that blew up on contact with the short man.

Bastion: 1600-1500

"Well played, but since you destroyed Mathematician, his ability activates, allowing me to draw one card."

"But it's still my turn. And I'm gonna throw down two face-downs. Plus, I'll play Mirage of Nightmare. Then I'll call it a turn. You see, I'm no one trick pony. You take away my fusion monster, and I'll just come right back at you with something else. It's not about the fusing, Bastion, it's about the monsters. And mine and still rearing to go."

"I'm sure, but the fact of the matter is, your monster powerful monsters are not. When will you just accept that dueling is nothing more than a numbers game? And numbers game that I have calculated effectively and you have not. You defeat is imminent Jaden. My draw."

"Now my Mirage of Nightmare activates. During your standby phase, I'm allowed to draw until I have four cards in my hand."

"Quite impressive," Zane commented. "Jaden's switched strategy and he's still playing well."

"Yeah, but, can he keep it up?" Alexis wondered.

"We'll find out soon enough," Christine added.

"You're simply postponing the inevitable," Bastion said. "Your deck's a problem that's already been solved."

"You're wrong!"

"Maybe this will convince you then. I activate the spell Pot of Greed. Because of it, I draw two cards. Then I'll play Trade-In. And by sending one level eight monster from my hand to the grave, I can draw two more cards. Furthermore, there are now ten cards stacked above Carboneddon in the graveyard. But he can handle the pressure. In fact, he thrives on it. Because now, due to the immense gravitational force on Carboneddon, he changes into diamond. And that lets me activate his special ability. By removing him from play, I can now summon Hiozanru, the diamond dragon." A majestic diamond blue dragon with a bright yellow underbelly, claws and horn appeared beside the Water Dragon, though it was no more than half as tall. (2100) "Now, Hiozanru, attack Bubbleman, Diamond Devastator." The dragon in question fired a blast of white energy from its mouth which disintegrated the Bubble Blaster. (1600-800)

"Whoopsie Bastion. When a monster with Bubble Blaster's about to be destroyed in battle, it's the blaster that takes the hit."

"But now that your blaster's gone, what will protect him from the Water Dragon? Tidal Blast." A stream of water shot from the bigger dragon's mouth and washed over Jaden's lone hero.

Jaden: 2800-800

"Aww man," Syrus moaned.

"I play Hero Signal and Emergency Provision." A ray of light emerged from the named trap, shining an 'H' on the ceiling. "Hero Signal activates when one of my monsters is destroyed in battle. Now I get to summon a level four of below Elemental Hero from my deck or hand. And I choose, Elemental Hero Clayman." The stone warrior rose on Jaden's field. (800) "And by giving up my two other cards, Emergency Provision gives me 2000 more life-points."

Jaden: 800-2800

"Nice move," Gerard spoke to himself. "I mean, first he plays Mirage, then gets rid of it before it hurts him. Umm, not that I care about this duel or anything." He turned around to leave, but caught stopped in his tracks and chose to stay instead.

"You just won't give up, will you Jaden. You certainly are one stubborn duelist."

"Thanks Bastion. At least, I think that was a compliment."

"You're welcome. I'll end my turn with a face-down."

"Here goes. I activate The Warrior Returning Alive. With this card's effect, I can take one warrior type monster from my grave and add it to my hand. So I'll pick, Bubbleman, and summon him to the field." Jaden's water hero rose once again. (800) "Then I activate the spell card Bubble Shuffle. This changes Bubbleman and one of your monsters to defense mode." Bubbleman kneeled down while Water Dragon crouched low. (1200) (2600) "And then I get to sacrifice Bubbleman to summon any monster with Elemental Hero in its name from my hand. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do. Bubbleman, move over for, Elemental Hero Bladedge." Jaden's monster was replaced by the golden armored hero. (2600)

"Nice move," Christine commented.

"Those fusion monsters may be Jaden's best, but that thing is a close second," Zane remarked.

"And this should be a close match-up," Alexis added.

"Aww Jaden, what're you doing? Bladedge only has 2600 attack points. That's not enough to beat that Water Dragon," Syrus pointed out.

"That's true," Chumley said.

"Don't sweat it guys, Jaden'll change things around," Jeremy reassured them.

"You're right, cause I've got something else. The field spell Skyscraper." Skyscrapers emerged from around the two duelists. Gerard looked at them with a shocked expression. "Now when an Elemental Hero battles, and it has less attack points that your monster, it gains a thousand." Bladedge was powered up as it prepared to charge. (2600-3600) "So go, Bladedge. Attack Water Dragon with, Slice n Dice attack." Jet like wings extended from the gold hero's back and he flew at the defending monster, slicing across its serpentine neck with the blade on its arm. "Now his ability activates. If he attacks a monster in defense mode with less points than him, the difference is dealt to you as damage."

Bastion: 1500-500

"Well, my dragon has a special ability too. For you see, when Water Dragon's destroyed in battle, I can summon one Oxegeddon and two Hydrogeddons from my graveyard." The three named monsters reappeared on Bastion's field, all crouching down. (1000) (800) x2

"Yeah, well Clayman's still ready to go. Even more with Skyscraper still out on the field." (800-1800) "Now, attack Oxygeddon with, Clay Clobberer." The stone warrior dashed forward and smacked the greenish monster with a powerful uppercut.

"Wow, this is one very lishus duel," Chumley commented.

"Yeah, this is way cool!" Jeremy pitched in.

"And it's not slowing down," Syrus added.

"This is really getting good," Gerard said to himself. "I'd forgotten how much fun dueling could be."

"My turn," Bastion announced as he drew. "And I play Graceful Charity, so I draw three card and discard two. Then I activate the spell Litmus Doom Ritual." A dark portal opened up on the ground behind Bastion's monsters, from which rose a gray metal structure with electricity coursing between the two pieces. "Now, I must sacrifice a total of eight stars worth of monsters from my hand and field. Then I can summon Litmus Doom Swordsman." A light emerged from the structure and when it subsided, in place of the two Hydrogeddons, there now stood a man dressed in white with a red cape, unusual yellow hat and holding two curved swords. (0)

"But he has zero attack points," Syrus pointed out.

"For eight starts of monsters, he must have one sweet effect," Jeremy said.

"Doom Swordsman isn't affected by traps, nor can he be destroyed in battle," Bastion explained. "Essentially, he's invincible. Also, when there's a trap card out on the field, like Non-Fusion Area, his attack and defense points become 3000." The elegant swordsman raised one of his swords and red energy poured from it into him. (0-3000/0-3000) "Next, I play the spell card, Stamping Destruction. When I have a dragon type monster on the field, I can destroy one spell or trap card. So Skyscraper is now demolished." Hyozanru rose in the air and flapped its wings, blowing away Jaden's field spell. "In addition, you lose 500 life-points."

Jaden: 2800-2300

"Now, Litmus Doom Swordsman, Give Bladedge a taste of your steel." The strongest monster dashed at Jaden's golden hero, swiping his swords at him in rapid succession.

Jaden: 2300-1900

"Well done. Now, Hiozanru, make me just as proud and attack Clayman. Diamond Devastator." Bastion's dragon fired a blast of white energy which beat down the stone warrior.

Jaden: 1900-600

"Then I'll end my turn."

"Aww man, this is bad. Jaden's lost his field spell and his monsters. He's defenseless out there.

"Chill Syrus," Jeremy said. "He'll be fine."

"Well, Bastion, I don't think I've ever had a more fun duel."

"I've enjoyed it as well, Jaden. And will continue to, especially when I beat you."

"Actually," Jaden said as he drew his card. "I'm ending this right now. I'm gonna summon a new Elemental Hero. And here he is, Elemental Hero Wildheart." A dark skinned man with bulging muscles covering his body appeared on Jaden's field. He wore tribal clothes, had a series of tattoos displayed and a large sword strapped across his back. (1500)

"New one, hey? Well he won't make much of an impression," Bastion commented.

"Oh, he will. Cause I'm equipping him with Cyclone Boomerang, raising Wildheart's attack points by 500." A large wooden boomerang appeared in the tribal warrior's hand. (500-2000)

"But so what?" Syrus spoke up. "He still can't beat either of Bastion's monsters."

"Yeah, what gives?" Chumley asked.

"You'll see what gives, when this boomerang makes its return trip." The hero hurled his weapon at the dragon who fired off a blast of energy, forcing it to go back and strike its owner.

Jaden: 600-500

"Perfect, now boomerang's effect activates. When this card and the monster equipped with it are sent to the graveyard, all spell and trap cards on the field are automatically destroyed. And for each one, you lose 500 life-points." Bastion gasped in surprise as his trap shattered and the shards struck his disk.

Bastion: 500-0

"Well, wadda you know, Jaden won," Christine commented.

"I guess when it came to Jaden Yuki, Bastion miscalculated," Zane said.

"I guess, or maybe some strategies you just can't solve." Alexis then happened to notice Gerard standing in the entrance, cheering for Jaden's victory, before turning around the leaving with a smile on his face. She nudged her friend with her elbow and pointed to the entryway.

"Isn't that the guy who was asking questions about the missing students?"

"Yeah, wonder what he's doing here." They left their spot to go after him.

Crowler slumped to the floor at seeing Jaden win. "Does this slacker ever lose?"

"And the winner is, Jaden Yuki," Sheppard announced. "Well done. There will be a 10 minute break before the second duel between Jeremy and Bastion."

"Way to play, Jay," Syrus said, him and the others having come down to the stage to congratulate him.

"Awesome dueling," Jeremy added.

"Great job," Chumley pitched in.

"Indeed, you beat me fair and square, Jaden. Or rather, you beat this deck. But rest assured, there will be more to come." He extended his hand to Jaden who shook it. "And Jeremy, I hope you'll be ready to duel soon."

"You better believe it," he replied. "I'll be ready to take on whatever you've set up for me."

* * *

Alexis and Christine caught up with Gerard shortly after he'd left the arena. "Hey you!" Alexis called out. "You're the one who was asking questions at the abandoned dorm. What're you doing here?"

"Well, not what I thought. You see, I came here looking for a story, but what I found was something very, very different. I found the duelist inside of me, the duelist I thought was long gone. Look," he turned around to face them. "I'm a reporter, a sleazy one, I'll admit. I make a living off of digging up dirt. But I didn't always. I was a duelist once. But I wasn't any good, I got beat all the time, the memories were awful. But after seeing the match just now, it made me remember what dueling's really about." He took out a flash drive from his pocket. "I had a great lead that I was going to sell, one that probably would've ruined Duel Academy. But I don't want to ruin this place anymore. Now I only want to help, to find the missing students, including your brother, Alexis." He followed his statement by giving her the flash drive.

"You're… thanks."

"Wait!" Christine called out as he was going to leave. "Since you're already here, why don't you stick around for a bit? At least, to watch the other two duels, if nothing else?"

"You're sure about that?" She nodded in confirmation. "Well, alright then. I guess it can't hurt."

"I'm sure you won't regret it."

* * *

Hope you liked it, please review, bla bla bla, the usual stuff I put here. Coming up next: The Duel Off - Part 2 (Bastion vs. Jeremy)


	26. The Duel Off Part 2

Disclaimer: *Reading a magazine, then looks up* Patattack does not own Yugioh GX.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**The Duel Off – Part 2**

Even though he had some time before his duel against Bastion, Jeremy was simply sitting on a bench in a locker room and doing nothing in particular. "Since Bastion said he made up two separate decks to duel me and Jaden, I wonder what he put in place for me," he thought aloud. "Against Jaden he used most of his water deck. So against me, it'll probably be another attribute, not that that tells me much. Oh well, it'll be all the more fun when it comes to the duel." He then pulled out his Shien's Footsoldier and held it out before him.

The spirit monster chose that moment to emerge from its card. "_Are you ready for this, master?_"

"Of course, I'm always ready for a duel. And since when do you call me master?"

"_Since never. I just felt like saying it._"

"I see…"

"_Your opponent will be a tough one. He is rather intelligent._"

"And I'm not?"

"_I never said that you weren't,_" the spirit replied. "_Even though you are prone to making rash decisions at times, and being impulsive and-_"

"Ah, shut up, banana breath," Jeremy shot back in a half angry, half playful tone.

* * *

At the same time, Jaden was sitting with Syrus, Chumley, Erik and Gerard amongst the audience, while waiting for the duel to begin. "So, wadda you think Bastion's gonna use against Jeremy?" he asked.

"Jeremy's biggest strength is swarming the field and using his samurai's effects," Erik began. "Given that Bastion shut down your fusions, he'll probably try something against that."

"So, I haven't seen Jeremy duel yet. Anything you guys can tell me about what to expect?" Gerard asked. He'd already given them a brief version of why he was at the academy and how he'd changed, which they'd all taken in stride and accepted with ease.

"Well…" Syrus started, but was interrupted by a voice coming from the loudspeakers.

"**Attention! Jeremy Wheeler and Bastion Misawa, please enter the arena for the duel. Will our two duelists come forth.**"

"The duel's about to start," Jaden spoke up. "You'll see all you need to soon."

"Alright then."

Bastion and Jeremy came to the platform from opposite ends, with their disks and decks at the ready. 'Well Jeremy, this is it. Time to see how this deck I've assembled works against you. Sure, Jaden may have defeated my other one, but this one won't be quite as easy.'

"Well, this duel should be good," Zane commented from his spot high up, accompanied once again by the two Obelisk girls. "It'll be intelligence vs. slightly different instincts."

"Yeah," Alexis agreed. "Jeremy is a little different from Jaden in dueling. Sort of like twin brothers with a few differences."

"Bastion's using a different deck this time around," Christine spoke up. "So we won't know what to expect. And Jeremy might have something new to throw down."

'Alrighty,' Jeremy thought to himself. 'It's my time to shine! Here's to hopping for a good duel.'

"We shall now begin the second of three duels," Crowler announced. "On one end, we have Bastion Misawa for a second performance." People cheered for the Ra student, despite his having lost in the first duel. "And over here, there's this… other Slifer," he said with less enthusiasm.

"Well Bastion, I hope you're ready to give it your all, cause I sure will."

"I'd expect as much, coming from you. And I can assure you, my deck and I are prepared."

"Duelists, begin!" Crowler said, then jumped off the stage.

"Let's do this."

"Yes, let's."

"Duel!"

Jeremy: 4000

Bastion: 4000

"I place a monster face-down and one card face-down." Two face-down cards appeared in front of Jeremy. "That's all."

"That's weird," Syrus commented. "It isn't usually Jeremy's style to hide his cards like that."

"He must have something different up his sleeve," Chumley pitched in.

"Now let's see what Bastion's got running," Jaden said.

"My turn. I summon the Bistro Butcher in attack mode." The monster that appeared was a man with deep purple skin, orange/reddish clothes and a chef's hat of the same color. He held a very long knife in one hand and his other was a hook. (1800)

"It looks like Bastion's using a dark deck this time around," Christine muttered. "Wonder what else he's got in store."

"Now attack his face-down monster." The fiend charged towards Jeremy's field with its weapon held high.

"I play Negate Attack." A transparent dome appeared around the Slifer duelist's face-down monster, easily repelling the incoming creature.

"Wonder why he used his trap just to protect some face-down monster," Syrus muttered.

"Probably because it has an effect that he wants to wait until his turn to activate," Erik guessed.

"Rather unusual of you to start off like that," Bastion noted.

"Don't you worry, I've got my reasons."

"I'm sure you do. In the meanwhile, I'll place three cards face-down and end my turn."

"Now it's my turn. And I'll flip up my Fiber Jar." A brown potted plant with a green bush at the tip was revealed as Jeremy's card. (500) "Now its flip effect activates. So we take all the cards in our field, hands and graveyards, shuffle em up, then draw five."

"Before that happens, I reveal Chain Detonation and Chain Strike. The first takes away 500 of your-life-points, and the second deals 400 points of damage times the chain link number of this card."

"What's he mean with chain link?" Jaden asked. Erik rolled his eyes at this, while Gerard looked at him with surprise on his face.

"Uhh, you know when one player activates an effect?" Syrus started. "Well, when someone plays a card right after, that makes a chain. And since Bastion played Chain Strike right after his trap, that makes it one of the links."

"Ooookaaaay."

"Now, since Chain Strike is the second link, combined with Chain Detonation, you lose a total of 1300 life-points." A heavy black fiery chain shot out from Bastion's spell and struck Jeremy's disk.

Jeremy: 4000-2700

"Not a bad move," Jeremy admitted. "But Fiber Jar's effect still activates. So the field is now empty." The two duelists shuffled their cards into their decks and drew. "Then I summon The Six Samurai Irou." The dark samurai with a visor over his eyes appeared in front of Jeremy. (1700) "And with your field empty because of Fiber Jar, he can hit you directly. Go, Shadow Samurai Strike." The warrior dashed forward and swung his sword at Bastion who blocked with his duel disk.

Bastion: 4000-2300

"Well played," Bastion congratulated his opponent. "Very impressive."

"Thanks Bastion," he replied courteously. "I'll finish up with two face-downs."

'HOW COULD I POSSIBLY THINK ABOUT NOMINATING BASTION!' Crowler shrieked in his own mind. 'Not only has he already lost against Jaden, but now Jeremy's beating him already!'

"It's my move," Bastion said as he drew. 'This may not be the exact card I need, but combined with this one, I'll be able to bring it to my hand in no time.' "I summon Mystic Tomato in defense mode." A light red tomato with a face that included a mouth with sharp teeth and a long tongue appeared on Bastion's field. (1100)

"It's no wonder kids don't like eating vegetables," Christine joked.

"Especially when they look that bad," Alexis added. Zane showed no expression in particular at the jest.

"Then I'll place two more cards face-down as well." Two face-downs appeared between the Ra student and his monster.

"Not a bad move," Gerard remarked. "Using Fiber Jar to clear his opponent's field and letting him launch a direct attack."

"My turn then. And I activate the trap, Swiftstrike Armor. When I get a six samurai monster during my draw phase, this automatically allows me to summon it. And the card I just got, happens to be The Six Samurai Nisashi." The green armored, dual sword wielding warrior stood tall next to his ally. (1400) "And I'll follow up with The Six Samurai Kamon." On the other side of the darker samurai, rose the one with brown armor and dynamite at hand. (1500) "Nisashi, attack that freaky vegetable." The monster in question charged forward and stabbed the dark plant in the middle of its 'face'.

"You just activated the effect of Mystic Tomato. Now I get to summon a dark attribute monster from my deck in attack mode with up to 1500 points. And I choose another Mystic Tomato." A replica of the first appeared in its place. (1400) "And I activate a trap, Option Hunter. Now I regain life-points equal to the attack points of the monster I just lost."

Bastion: 2300-3700

"Well I have my other face-down to play, Swift Samurai Storm. Since one of my samurais just did battle, they all get an additional 300 attack points." (1400-1700) (1500-1800) (1700-2000) "Slice and dice that tomato, Nisashi." Jeremy's monster rushed back and swung his swords at the enemy creature, cutting it to pieces.

Bastion: 3700-3400

"I summon the third one from my deck." Yet another tomato made an appearance. (1400)

"That's fine with me. It's your turn, Kamon. Go ahead and blow it to pieces." The brown armored samurai light up a stick of dynamite and hurled it at the opposing plant, blowing it apart.

Bastion: 3400-3000

"Now I summon Des Mosquito." A large gray mosquito with a stinger and holding a strange double ended spear buzzed to Bastion's field (500) "And when normal or special summoned, Des Mosquito gains 2 counters and 500 attack points for each." (500-1500)

"Irou, take out that overgrown bug." The dark samurai unsheathed his sword and dashed at high enough speed that he was suddenly behind the insect. He went to strike it down, but it raised its weapon and he only cut off one end.

Bastion: 3000-2500

"Huh?" Jeremy exclaimed in surprise at seeing the monster survive the attack. "How'd that happen?"

"Sorry Jeremy, but when my monster is about to be destroyed in battle, I can remove one of its counters so it remains on the field." (1500-1000)

"Fine then. I'll just go ahead and end my turn." Jeremy's samurais attack points returned to normal upon his turn ending. (1700-1400) (1800-1500) (2000-1700)

"That was a good round," Jaden commented. "I mean, Jeremy swarmed the field, but Bastion used his monsters effects to keep his line of defense."

"Nice, that kid really knows how to use those samurais," Gerard added.

"Their life-points may be close, but Jeremy seems to have the advantage so far," Zane said.

"But still," Alexis jumped in. "It's just the beginning of the duel and it's looking rather similar to the last one."

"No worries, Jeremy will win," Christine said.

"You made the right choice in suggesting Jeremy for this event," Sheppard said to Banner. "He's one impressive duelist."

"Thank you chancellor," he replied. "Like I said, he and Jaden are our best new students."

"My move then. And I play Pot of Greed. Then I activate the spell, Dark Designator. To which I'll chain Mystical Refpanel. Thanks to this trap card, Dark Designator's effect get's applied to me instead."

"Smart move," Zane remarked. "With that combo, Bastion can add any card he wants to his hand."

"So I'll call out, Vanity's Fiend."

"Vanity's Fiend?" Jaden asked, visibly confused. "What kind of card is that?"

"I don't know," Chumley admitted. "But I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"Now I sacrifice Des Mosquito to summon Vanity's Fiend." A man with long red and long black robes that covered all but his head and hands appeared on Bastion's field. He had a piece of what appeared to be black and gray metal attached to the left side of his face and was wearing a shoulder guard of the same material. (2400)

"Bastion must have been trying to outlast Jeremy's attacks so he'd have a monster ready to sacrifice for this one," Syrus realized.

"Then I play Vanity's Blast. When I have a Vanity monster on the field, this destroys all your monsters that were special summoned." The fiend monster extended an arm towards Nisashi and shot out a purple lightning bolt from his hand which struck him. "But that's not all. Because I play Vanity Submission. And by letting you draw one card, a Vanity monster can attack twice."

"Oh boy, this ain't gonna be pretty," Jaden said.

"Now, destroy Kamon." The red haired man raised both his hands and shot a beam of dark energy at Jeremy's weaker samurai, thus defeating him.

Jeremy: 2700-1800

"Even though Kamon lost that battle, Swift Samurai Storm still gives Irou 300 more attack points." (1700-2000)

"But that's still not enough." Jeremy's darker samurai was blown away when he was struck by a second beam of dark energy.

Jeremy: 1800-1400

"Though your field is empty, that isn't even the worst of it, because Vanity's Fiend has a rather special ability. First of all, it can't be special summoned, but as long as he's on the field, neither of us can special summon any monsters."

"Say what!" Jeremy exclaimed in surprise.

"Not lishus!"

"Aww man," Syrus moaned. "Without being able to special summon, Jeremy can't swarm the field and use his samurais' effects."

"This doesn't look good for him," Gerard commented.

"No joke," Erik said. "A lot of decks depend of special summons, but Jeremy's even worse off in this situation."

"Well, Bastion may have lost against Jaden, but he certainly has Jeremy's deck all locked up," Zane mentioned.

"He'll be able to pull through," Christine said. "I'm sure of it."

"But still, the only monster he has that's able to beat that Vanity's Fiend is his shogun," Alexis reminded her. "And without being able to special summon, Jeremy can't summon it with its own effect. And he'll have a hard time keeping his monsters on the field long enough to sacrifice them."

"Jeremy seems to be in a lot of trouble at the moment," Sheppard commented.

"Aye, that he is," Banner agreed. "We'll just have to see how he adjusts to the situation." Pharaoh meowed at this.

"I knew that something good had to come out of nominating Bastion for the school duel," Crowler said gleefully to himself. "Even with last match, he's still playing perfectly. And Jeremy's chances of winning have just gone down the drain. I'm a genius!"

"Come on Jeremy!" Jaden cheered for his friend. "You're still in this duel!"

"Thanks Jayman. So here goes. I play my own Pot of Greed, to draw two cards." Jeremy checked out his hand after drawing. He now held The Six Samurai Zanji, Grandmaster of the Six samurai, Great Shogun Shien and Card Destruction. 'Well this stinks. If it weren't for his monster's effect, I'd be able to bring out these three guys and win the duel. Even then, if he hadn't played Vanity's Blast, I'd still have one of my samurais on the field and I could summon Zanji and use his effect to destroy his monster.'

'Judging by his expression, Jeremy must be holding a set of cards that could possibly defeat me or my monster under normal circumstances,' Bastion thought to himself. 'Well then, seeing as you can't beat my monster now, what will you do then?'

"I really hate tossing out such a good hand," Jeremy said out loud. "But I don't really have any other choice. I play Card Destruction, so we both send all the cards in our hands to the graveyard and draw the same number of from our decks." Both duelists complied with the spell's effect, then grabbed their new cards. "Let's see here… I'll place a card face-down then summon Chamberlain of the Six Samurai in defense mode." Jeremy's warrior with artificial limbs sat down in front of him. (2000) "And then I'll call it a turn."

"Too bad for Jeremy, it sounded like he really had some sweet cards," Jaden said.

"Unfortunately, with Vanity's Fiend's effect in play, he has to be on the defensive for now," Erik joined in. "At least, until he gets something good enough to go on the offense."

"Well then, I guess we'll see how Jeremy can hold out with most of his deck being shut down like this," Zane spoke up.

"He can handle it," Christine replied confidently. "He's been forced to go on the defensive lots of times before, and he's always managed to make a comeback."

"If you're sure about that," Alexis said.

"I'll go. And I summon Vanity's Judge." A short man wearing a long dark blue robe appeared on Bastion's field. He wore a pair of dark red boots and a black scarf around his head that only showed a pair of dark green eyes. Apart from that, he had pale skin and held a black wand in his hand. (1000) "Then I equip Vanity's Fiend with Fairy Meteor Crush, therefore giving him the power to do damage through defending monsters. Now attack."

"Aww man, if both these hits connect, Jeremy's done for," Syrus moaned.

"Don't worry Sy, he's still got a face-down," Jaden reminded him.

"I hope for his sake that it's a good one," Gerard said.

Vanity's Fiend charged up yet another beam of dark energy in its hand, when Jeremy interrupted. "Not so fast, Bastion. I reveal my face-down, Mirror Force. And since both your monsters are in attack mode, they're going bye, bye." A glass dome then appeared around Jeremy's monster.

"Not quite. You see, by sacrificing Vanity's Judge, any vanity card I control can avoid destruction this turn." The weaker vanity monster waved its wand, at which the chamberlain's protection dispersed, before he himself disappeared. Vanity's Fiend then launched his attack, striking Jeremy's monster and going through to hit him.

Jeremy: 1400-1000

"That will do for now."

"Alright, it's my turn again." 'Can't do much with this card,' Jeremy thought as he drew. 'Won't be of much use unless I have a couple of monsters at the ready. But still… might as well play it just in case.' "I place one card face-down and that's it."

"This isn't looking pretty," Chumley remarked. "Jeremy doesn't have any monsters, only one card face-down and one in his hand."

"If he doesn't pull out something good soon, he'll lose the duel," Erik stated.

"Come on, Jeremy, fight back," Christine encouraged him. "I know you can, I believe in you."

"Wow, you're really supporting him," Alexis noted.

"He's my friend, of course I support him."

"Are you sure you two aren't anything beyond that?"

"Alexis! You're starting to sound like my mother!" Christine had developed a light blush on her cheeks at her friend's words. Alexis smiled a little upon seeing the state her friend was in, though she focused on the duel again.

"Is that all?" Bastion asked. "Fine with me. Vanity's Fiend, attack."

"Sorry Bastion, but the duel isn't over yet. I discard Shadow of the Six Samurai to reduce my damage to 0 this turn." The shadowy outline of a featureless samurai appeared in front of Jeremy to block the attack.

"You just won't give up, hey Jeremy?"

"Nope, not as long as I haven't run out of life-points or cards in my deck."

"I must say, you certainly are persistent. I'll simply go ahead and end my turn with a face-down."

"Whew, he still has a chance at this," Jaden said.

"He'll be relying on his next card to turn things around," Erik pointed out.

"Let's just hope he can get a good draw then," Syrus piped up.

"Here goes."

"I reveal my trap, Vanity's Punishment. And by equipping this to a Vanity monster I control, you lose life-points equal to half of its attack points at the end of this turn."

"Not Lishus."

"This is it," Gerard said. "Jeremy needs to get something good now."

"I play Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until our hands are full. Yes!" Jeremy exclaimed upon seeing the cards he'd drawn. "Hey Bastion, this duel's been a blast, but I'm afraid I'm gonna end it now."

"Really? And just how are you going to do that?"

"You'll see. To start, I summon the Six Samurai Yaichi." Jeremy's yellow armored samurai appeared on his field. (1300) "Then I'll sacrifice him to play Mystic Wok. So I regain life-points equal to his attack points." The bow wielding warrior nodded to the Slifer duelist, before leaving the field.

Jeremy: 1000-2300

"Next I flip Ultimate Offering. And thanks to this card, I only need to give up 500 life-points, and I can normal summon again."

"Alright! Jeremy found a way around Bastion's monster's effect," Syrus said.

"So I'll give up a thousand to summon out these guys, Yariza and Shien's Footsoldier."

Jeremy: 2300-1300

Jeremy's blue armored, spear wielding samurai stood tall next to the duel spirit monster. (1000) (700) "But that's not all there is to it. Because I'm giving up another 500 life-points in order to sacrifice them for something better."

Jeremy: 1300-800

"What's Jeremy up to?" Jaden wondered.

"Now check out this guy, Vanity's Ruler." The monster that appeared on the field had fair skin and pointed ears, like those of an elf. His green hair was relatively short and beside that, he wore long silvery glittering robes. (2500)

"I never expected you to have this kind of monster in your deck," Bastion mentioned.

"I know," he admitted. "I just picked him up recently and thought that I could use him. And it's a good thing I did that. Cause now he's going to destroy Vanity's Fiend. Attack!" The fairy monster gathered clear light energy in his hands, and then fired off a beam of that pierced through his enemy's defense and defeated it.

Bastion: 2500-2400

"Good show, but I'm still standing."

"Not for long though. I activate the quick-play spell, Bushido's Mirror. When one of my monsters destroys one of yours, by removing a monster from my graveyard with more attack points, I get a bushido token for the rest of the turn. So I'll toss out Great Shogun Shien and say hello to the monster that'll win me the duel."

"That's strange," Jaden said. "Since Vanity's Fiend had an effect against special summoning, I would've thought that Vanity's Ruler's would have something close to that."

"I guess, I forgot to mention, like your monster, Vanity's Ruler can't be special summoned. But as for his other effect, you may be unable to special summon any monsters, but I can." Bastion let out a small gasp of surprise at hearing this. A man then rose on Jeremy's field, dressed in a brown long sleeved shirt and pants, beige vest and with his face hidden by a red headband. He held a plain handheld mirror with a red wooden frame. (?) "And the cool part about this, is that my token's attack and defense points are the same as those of the monster you just lost." An image of Vanity's Fiend appeared in the mirror. (?-2400/?-1200) "Now go get im." The simple dressed man projected a reflection of Bastion's monster, which then launched a last beam of dark energy which depleted his life-points.

Bastion: 2400-0

"And there you have it folks," the victorious Slifer student said.

"Interesting," Zane commented. "Even though Bastion prepared a deck to counter Jeremy's moves like he did to Jaden, he was just too unpredictable."

"You see Alexis?" Christine told her friend. "What'd I tell you?"

"You were right about him," she admitted. "All that's left now is to see how him and Jaden do against one another."

"Tell me this didn't just happen," Crowler said dejectedly. "Now no matter what happens, we'll have a Slifer slacker representing Duel Academy at the school duel. It's not fair." He then sunk to the floor in defeat.

"And the winner of the second match is, Jeremy Wheeler!" Sheppard announced. "Congratulations! We'll have a 15 minute intermission before the final duel, between Jeremy and Jaden."

"Well done, Jeremy," Bastion congratulated him. "You managed to pull out a victory despite everything I sent your way. Truly remarkable."

"Thanks Bastion. I've gotta tell you, that was one of the toughest matches I've been in. You really had me going there. If I hadn't brought out Vanity's Ruler, I would've been toast for sure." The two duelists shook hands and went to rejoin the others who were waiting for them in the audience.

"Awesome duel you two!" Jaden said.

"That was a really close match-up," Syrus added.

"Totally Lishus!"

"You both did some really cool moves," Gerard filled in.

"Congrats," was all Erik articulated.

"So, Jaden," Jeremy spoke up. "It's just you and me now."

"Yep, are you gonna be ready to get your game on?"

"Ohhh yeah! I can already tell this is gonna be fun."

* * *

A little shorter than I usually do em, but still, the best is yet to come.

**Cards I made up for this chapter**:

**Vanity's Blast**

Normal spell

Effect: Activate only when you control a monster with 'Vanity' in its name. Destroy all special summoned monsters on your opponent's side of the field.

Image: A band of warriors being blown apart by a blast of purple energy exploding in the middle of them.

**Vanity Submission**

Normal spell

Effect: Select one monster you control that has 'Vanity' in its name. That monster can attack twice. Your opponent then draws one card.

Image: Vanity's Fiend looking down at a pair of Celtic Guardians kneeling before him.

**Vanity's Judge**

Lv:3

Attr: Dark

Type: Spellcaster

Atk/Def: 1000/1200

Effect: By sacrificing this face-up card, one 'Vanity' card you control cannot be destroyed this turn (this effect can be used during either player's turn).

Image: A short man wearing a long dark blue robe. He's wearing a pair of dark red boots and a black scarf around his head that only show a pair of dark green eyes. He has pale skin and holds a black wand in his hand.

**Vanity's Punishment**

Normal trap

Effect: Activate only during your opponent's standby phase when you control a monster with 'Vanity' in its name. Equip this card to one of your 'Vanity' monsters. Your opponent loses life-points equal to half the attack points of the monster equipped with this card at the end of the turn. After damage is dealt by this effect, destroy this card.

Image: Silver Fang at the edge of a cliff with a dark mist below and Vanity's Judge standing behind with his wand pointed at it.

**Bushido's Mirror**

Quick-Play spell

Effect: Activate only during your battle phase one of your opponent's monsters is destroyed in battle. Remove from play a monster in your graveyard with more attack points that the one destroyed, then summon a bushido token (Lv: 4, Attr: Light, Type: Warrior, Atk/Def: ?/?). The original attack and defense points of the bushido token become those of your opponent's monster destroyed. The token monster is destroyed at the end of your turn.

Image: A man dressed in a brown long sleeved shirt and pants, beige vest and with his face completely covered by a red headband. He's holding a small, simple handheld mirror with a red wooden frame.

**Next chapter: **It's time for the long awaited show-down between Duel Academy's two best freshman. Heroes vs. Samurais in: The Duel Off - Part 3 (Jaden vs. Jeremy)


	27. The Duel Off Part 3

Disclaimer: I do not own this show, it's already existing characters, cards and all that stuff.

***Warning! Warning!*** The following chapter is friken loaded with non-stop, back and forth, car flippin action. If you think you can handle it, then please proceed. If you don't think your brain can take it, then stop reading. I will not be held responsible for any injuries. LOL!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**The Duel Off – Part 3**

At the moment, it was still the intermission, given that Jeremy had dueled most recently and needed a break before going at it again. Again he sat in a locker room, and this time he was going over the cards in his deck.

"Okay guys, this is gonna be one tough duel," he spoke to his cards. "Jaden's seen me duel more than once before, so he'll know a fair bit about my moves. But still, he doesn't know them all." He picked out one of his cards in particular. "I've never played you before, but I have a feeling that I'll be needing you for this duel." He gathered up his cards and put them all together again. "Jaden, there's a storm coming your way."

* * *

At the same time that Jeremy was looking over his deck, Jaden was doing the same thing in a different locker room. "This is it, guys," he said to his deck. "We're going up against Jeremy this time. And judging by how well he's played, he's gonna be a really tough opponent."

"_Coo!_" Jaden heard Winged Kuriboh call out to him.

He picked up the card in question and held it in front of him. "Don't you worry about a thing, Kuriboh. With all you guys on my side, I'll be just fine." The furry creature winked at him from its card.

* * *

"It's almost time for the duel to start," Syrus said as the break was coming to an end. "This is gonna be the duel of the century, I can hardly wait."

"Same here," Gerard added. "I mean, after seeing both of them duel, I can tell it's going to be really fun to see them play against each other."

"It will be an interesting match-up indeed," Bastion spoke up. "Elemental Heroes against the Six Samurai. Jeremy and Jaden have both proven to be formidable adversaries, and they've only lost one duel since they've been here."

"Yeah," Chumley agreed. "The only problem will be who to cheer for."

"This is going to be interesting," Zane commented.

"That's a given," Alexis said. "Just look at all the duels they've won and how they play."

"No kidding," Christine added. "It's a long awaited duel if you ask me."

"One of them is going to hand the other a second defeat," Zane noted.

"That may be, but neither one of them is going to back down," Christine replied.

"Yeah, they'll both do everything they can to walk out as the winner," Alexis said.

* * *

"Ah hem!" Crowler spoke into his microphone when the break was finished. "The intermission is now over! Will our two duelists take their places on the field for the final match!"

Jaden and Jeremy walked out from opposite ends, smiling with confident expressions on their faces. The people in the audience cheered loudly for the both of them as they made their way onto the platform in the middle of the arena.

"Oh, and Crowler." The Obelisk headmaster turned to face Chancellor Sheppard.

"Yes, sir?"

"Be sure to give them both a proper introduction this time. Understood?"

"Of course," he replied forcedly. "And now, introducing first… Jaden Yuki." Crowler almost made a face as he spoke Jaden's name. "And then, also from the Slifer Red, we have… Jeremy Wheeler." He waited for the cheers to dim down before speaking up again. "Duelists, shuffle your opponent's deck."

The two Slifers walked to the middle of the platform where they handed each other their cards. "Good luck Jaden," Jeremy said as he shuffled.

"Same to you Jeremy," he replied. "Are you ready to rock?"

"You bet! Just don't hold back on me just because we're buddies."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Now let's throw down!" They both returned the decks to their respectful owners and walked back to their side.

"Let the duel begin!" Crowler announced, then jumped off the stage.

Both duelists inserted their decks and started up their duel disks. "Get your game on!" Jaden said.

"You got it!"

"Duel!"

Jeremy: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"You can go first," Jaden said as they drew their starting hands.

"Don't mind if I do." Jeremy then drew his sixth card. 'I may have played this card before, but never when Jaden's been around.' "I summon Shien's Footsoldier in defense mode." The monkey duel spirit crouched down in front of the samurai duelist while holding his spear in his hands. (300) "And I'll leave it at that."

"What's Jeremy thinking?" Syrus asked. "How's that gonna help him?"

"Just wait and see, Sy," Chumley said. "It may not look like much, but that monster's got a nice effect."

"If you say so."

"Is that really all you're gonna do, Jeremy?"

"Yep, that's all I need for now."

"Well alright then. I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in attack mode." The fiery red clad woman appeared in a burst of flames on Jaden's field. (1200) "And now, I'll have her attack your Shien's Footsoldier with, Flare Storm." The heroine gathered a fireball in one hand and threw it at the defending monster, who stood fast as the attack hit.

"I was hoping you'd do that, cause you just activated my monster's special ability. See, when Shien's Footsoldier is destroyed in battle, I get to summon any six samurai monster from my deck, so long as it's level three or below. Like... The Six Samurai Yaichi." The yellow armoured samurai rose opposite the fire monster. (1300)

'This could be a problem,' Jaden thought to himself. 'If I play a card face-down, he'll probably just summon another samurai and use Yaichi's effect to destroy it. But If I don't put something on the field, that'll give him another monster to attack with. Oh well.' "I'll just throw this face-down and call it a turn."

"Nice move," Zane commented. "Jeremy played his Shien's Footsoldier, knowing that Jaden would destroy it and let him summon a samurai from his deck."

"And he's sure to have another samurai in his hand so he can use Yaichi's effect and remove any potentially threatening face-down," Christine added.

"Looks like Jaden's in a bit of trouble here," Alexis muttered.

"My turn. I play Six Samurai United. Now for every six samurai monster summoned, this gets a bushido counter. So I summon the Six Samurai Zanji." Jeremy's red and gold armoured warrior stood tall next to his ally. (1800) 'Jaden could have played that face-down just to make me use up Yaichi's effect. But then again, if I just attack, I risk running into a trap. May as well play it safe.' "l use Yaichi's special ability to destroy your face-down." The bow wielding samurai loaded an arrow and shot Jaden's face-down. "Now Zanji, attack Burstinatrix. Samurai's Strike of Honor." The named monster dashed forward and swung at the female hero, scoring a hit with his sword pointed spear.

Jaden: 4000-3400

"I'm all done for now."

"Looks like Jeremy got first blood," Erik noted.

"I'm sure Jaden's gonna come back with something soon though," Syrus said.

"Nice shot there," Jaden said to his friend and opponent.

"Thanks, Jaden."

"Don't worry, cause I'm about to return the favour. I play Polymerization, fusing Clayman and Sparkman to create, the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." The two named heroes entered Polymerizations vortex and came out as the giant who was at least twice as tall as Jeremy's monsters. (2400) "And thanks to his special ability, your Six Samurai Yaichi is automatically destroyed." The yellow armored samurai was struck by a blast of electricity from Thunder Giant's hand. "Now Thunder Giant, attack. Voltic Thunder." Jaden's monster placed his hands together then opened them up towards Jeremy's field, sending a wave of electricity and washed over Zanji.

Jeremy: 4000-3400

"I'll just leave it at that."

"Nice," Gerard commented. "He sure didn't waste time making a comeback."

"That's Jaden for you," Syrus added. "Never takes long before turning things around."

"Now we'll see what Jeremy does in response," Bastion said.

"Alrighty! I summon Specter of the Six Samurai, in defense mode." The departed warrior kneeled down opposite Jaden's hero with his arms in front of him. (400) "Thanks to his effect, when he's normal summoned, I draw one card for every six samurai monster in my graveyard. Then I'll play one of em face-down. And since my turn's over, Specter drains 100 of my life-points for every card I drew with his effect."

Jeremy: 3400-3200

"My move then. And I'll have Thunder Giant attack." The named monster shot out another blast of electricity towards Jeremy's field.

"My monster's not going anywhere. Cause I activate Negate Attack to keep him safe." The incoming electric attack was halted by the sudden appearance of a transparent wall between its originator and the ghostly warrior.

"I end my turn with a face-down."

"Time to turn the tide. First, I switch Specter to attack mode." The departed samurai rose from his defensive position. (1200) "Then I summon The Six Samurai Irou." The darker samurai with a visor rose next to his friend. (1700) "Next I'll equip him with United we Stand, giving him 800 extra attack and defense points for every face-up monster I control. So with him and my specter, that's 1600 more points." (1700-3300/1200-2800) "Now go get im. Shadow Samurai Strike." The darker samurai unsheathed his sword and dashed at the giant. He jumped in the air when he came close and landed on his back, finishing him off with his weapon.

Jaden: 3400-2300

"I activate my trap, Hero signal. Now I get an elemental hero from my deck of level four or below. And the one I'm picking is, Elemental Hero Wildheart." The muscular hero appeared on Jaden's field in place of his fallen ally. (1500)

"Fine with me. I'll go ahead and call it a turn."

"Jaden just lost his monster and a bit of his life-points, but he saved himself from losing more thanks to his trap," Zane noted.

"I knew Jaden had something up his sleeve," Alexis said. "There's just no way he could go down that easy."

"This is way good," Gerard commented. "The action hasn't slowed down since the first card was played."

"Yeah," Syrus agreed. "And with two guys like them going at it, the duel's sure to keep a fast pace."

"Here goes," Jaden announced as he drew. "Sweet! I activate Legacy of a Hero. Thanks to this spell card, when I have at least two level four or higher Elemental Heroes in my graveyard, I get to draw three cards. Then I'll play Fusion Recovery, to bring Polymerization and Clayman back to my hand. Next I fuse Avian and Wildheart to create a new hero. The Elemental Hero Wild Wingman." Avian appeared alongside Wildheart. Both heroes were surrounded by a wall of wind, and when it dissipated, there was a new monster. His body was muscular like Wildheart and his lower half was green and black fur, with his feet being talon shaped. His hands finished with claws and on his back, were a pair of large white wings with black tips. (1900)

"A new hero, huh?" Jeremy spoke up. "He must have an effect, given that his attack points aren't that high."

"You're right about that. And his effect is that by sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy one of your spell or trap cards." Jaden tossed out one of the cards he held, and Jeremy's equip spell shattered, lowering Irou's attack points. (3300-1700/2800-1200) "Now attack his specter." The winged hero flapped his wings, creating a razor gust of air and slammed into the samurai ghost, who broke apart.

Jeremy: 3200-2500

"That's all for now."

"This duel's looking very good," Sheppard commented.

"Yes, indeed it is," Banner replied. "A match of this quality could only happen between two very talented students."

"Incredible," Gerard said. "Jaden's taken the advantage again."

"But with the way the duel's been going so far, it could change without a moment's notice," Erik pointed out.

"Now we'll see if Jeremy can pull off another comeback," Zane said.

"He can do it," Christine replied confidently. "That's for sure."

"But Jaden will probably do the same right after," Alexis pitched in.

"Nice move Jayman. Your new hero's effect caught me off guard."

"Sorry bout that."

"No worries. And besides, I've still got a trick or two up my sleeve. But before I unleash any of them on you, I'll switch Irou to defense mode." The darker samurai went down on one knee. (1200) "And to accompany him, I'll summon the Chamberlain of the Six Samurai in defense as well." The Japanese warrior with metal limbs crouched down besides Irou. (2000) "Then I'll throw this little number face-down and that's all."

"Fine with me. Now I'm gonna boost Wild Wingman's power by giving him H-Heated heart. This raises his attack points by 500." (1900-2400) "What's more, for this turn, if he attacks a monster in defense mode and it has less defense points then his attack points, the difference comes out of your life-points. Attack Irou with, Wing Impulse." Jaden's monster stretched out his wings to their full length and emitted pounding 'ripples' of air which struck and destroyed the kneeling monster.

Jeremy: 2500-1300

"Then I'll end my turn with Mirage of Nightmare and two cards face-downs." The hero's attack points returned to normal as Jaden's turn ended. (2400-1900)

"My turn again."

"And since it's your standby phase, it's time for my mirage spell to activate. So I draw until I have four cards. Then I use Emergency Provisions to sacrifice Mirage of Nightmare and my face-down to gain back 2000 life-points."

Jaden: 2300-4300

"Jaden just got back all the life-points Jeremy took away and even more," Syrus pointed out.

"Jeremy's still looking pretty confident even with that," Chumley noted.

"He must have something good at hand and ready to play," Gerard said.

"Hey Jaden, you may have regained a chunk of your life-points, but with the cards I've got, I'm gonna make you lose a bunch all over again. And it starts with Return of the Six Samurai, which I'll use to bring back Irou." The visor wearing samurai rose again from the graveyard. (1700) "Then I summon The Six Samurai Yariza." Jeremy's blue armored warrior appeared next to the others. (1000) "Now I activate Monster Reborn to bring back an old friend, The Six Samurai Zanji." The samurai with red and gold armor stood amongst his comrades again. (1800)

"Nice moves," Zane commented. "Jeremy just summoned three monsters in one turn."

"And all of them are staring down Jaden's Wingman," Christine noted.

"This is gonna hurt," Alexis said.

"Now Yariza, hit Jaden directly with, Blazing Spear." The monster in question jumped high in the air and took out the spear attached to his side, launching it over Jaden's monster and striking his duel disk.

Jaden: 4300-3300

"It's your turn Zanji. Oh, and by sacrificing my chamberlain, he'll be safe from destruction. Now take out his Wingman. Piercing Strike." Jeremy's strongest monster ran quickly at Jaden's Wingman, dodging the blades of air that struck the chamberlain instead and avenging him by impaling his enemy.

Jeremy: 1300-1200

"But that's not all, cause as you can see, Irou's still rearing to go." The remaining samurai charged the brunette Slifer who raised his duel disk to take the hit from his sword.

Jaden: 3300-1600

"I'll finish my turn by placing this face-down and because Irou was summoned by the Return of the Six Samurai, he has to go back to the graveyard."

"Nice," was all Zane said.

"Yeah, he just swarmed the field and ran over Jaden's life-points," Christine said.

"Come on, Jaden," Alexis encouraged him. "You can do it."

"The speed with which Jeremy can summon out his monsters is astonishing," Bastion commented. "And his mastery of his samurai's effects is remarkable."

"You really got in a good hit there," Jaden commended his friend.

"Thanks Jay."

"You're welcome. But you shouldn't get too happy about this. Know why? Cause I've got something else in store for you."

"Sounds like Jaden's about to unleash something big," Erik said.

"It can't be good for Jeremy," Bastion mentioned.

"Now, I play E-Emergency Call. Thanks to this, I can take one Elemental Hero from my deck and put it right into my hand. So I'll bring Bubbleman to my hand, and then summon him to the field." Jaden's water hero rose on the field. (800) "Since he's alone, I get to draw two more cards. Guess what? I just drew Bubble Shuffle. And you know what that means. I switch Bubbleman and Yariza to defense mode." The two designated monsters kneeled down. (1200) (500) "Then I sacrifice Bubbleman to summon Elemental Hero Bladedge." Jaden's Bubbleman disappeared and was replaced by the strongest Elemental Hero. (2600)

"If Jaden's lands this attack, he'll win," Chumley realized.

"It's over," Syrus added. Erik simply continued looking at the duel and refrained from making comments.

"Go, Bladedge. Take out Yariza with, Slice n Dice Attack."

"I reveal my Nutrient Z trap card. Since I'm about to take over 2000 damage, this kicks in with a 4000 point boost."

Jeremy: 1200-5200

Jet wings extended from the golden hero's back. He then flew towards Jeremy's field and sliced the blade on his arm across the weaker samurai.

Jeremy: 5200-3100

"Jeremy sure dodged that bullet," Christine spoke up.

"It was still a close one," Alexis pitched in.

"That was a sweet move," Jaden complimented. "I was sure I had you there for a second."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not that easy to beat."

"I'll just call it a turn."

"Then I'll begin mine. I think it's about time I got a new hand, so I'll send Six Samurai United to the graveyard. And since it had seven bushido counters, I can draw that many cards." Jeremy disposed of his spell and drew his cards.

"With that many cards available, Jeremy must be able to do something good," Bastion said.

"Now I summon the Six Samurai Kamon." The brown armored samurai appeared next to his red/gold counterpart. (1500) "I'll follow that up with Six Scrolls of the Samurai. So I can sacrifice two six samurai monsters in order to summon one of my favourite monsters, Great Shogun Shien." The tall red armored warlord took the place of both samurais, standing as tall as Bladedge, his cape billowing behind him and a long curved blade in one hand. (2500) "Then I equip him with Sword of Deep Seated, giving him 500 extra attack points." The shogun's weapon changed into a wicked black and purple sword, granting his more power. (2500-3000) "Great Shogun Shien, attack and destroy Bladedge." Jeremy's powerful warrior charged at Jaden's field, his weapon finding its way past Bladedge's defences.

Jaden: 1600-1200

"I'll put this face-down and that's it for now."

"Jaden's in a tight spot now," Zane spoke up. "Not only does Jeremy have control of the field with a rather powerful monster out, but his effect limits how many spells and traps his opponent can play each turn."

"This'll be tough, but history has proven that Jaden can get out of these kinds of situations," Alexis reminded him.

"I activate Heroic Defense. When I have an Elemental Hero on the field, I can flip it face-down. And when I have none, I can do that to one of your monsters. So I'll flip your shogun face-down." The warlord disappeared and was replaced by the image of the back of a card.

"Now Jaden can play any number of magic cards that he wants," Erik mentioned.

"Wonder what he's planning," Syrus said.

"Now I play Pot of Greed, so I get to draw two cards. Then comes Dark Factory of Mass Production. With it, I can return two normal monsters in my graveyard to my hand. And I pick Avian and Burstinatrix."

"I think we can all guess what's coming next," Christine said.

"Finally, I'll fuse them to create, the one and only, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." The red and green heroes merged together and formed Jaden's headliner. (2100) "But before I do anything else, I'll play Elemental Recovery. I can only activate this spell card when I have an Elemental Hero on the field. And by removing a Polymerization from my graveyard, I can take back one of my spells there. And I pick H-Heated Heart, which I'll use on my Wingman." (2100-2600) "Now attack his Shogun with, Infernal Rage." Jaden's wingman shot a stream of fire from its dragon arm. Jeremy's shogun was revealed, but was overcome by the attack. "Not only do you lose the difference between our monsters points, but thanks to Flame Wingman's effect, you take damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points."

"Not quite, because I'm sending Shadow of the Six Samurai to the graveyard to reduce my damage to zero." The shadow warrior appeared on the field and held back the Flame Wingman. "And while I'm at it I reveal Transmigration Prophecy, meaning I can return Shadow of the Six Samurai and Great Shogun Shien to my deck so Sword of Deep Seated won't be cutting off access to all my other cards."

"I end my turn." (2600-2100)

"Simply remarkable," Bastion commented. "Despite everything they've been throwing at each other, neither one of them is backing down in the least. I don't think I've ever seen such a consistently intense duel."

"Me neither," Syrus admitted.

"Wonder how long they can keep at it," Chumley muttered.

"I must say, this has to be some of the best card playing in Duel Academy history," Sheppard said.

"That would not be very hard to believe," Banner agreed.

"Both of them have been duelling with everything they have since the beginning," Zane said.

"They really want to win this duel," Christine inputted.

"That's a given," Alexis spoke up.

"My best monster may be gone, but that doesn't mean I'm done for. So I play my own Pot of Greed to draw two cards. I'll place two face-downs and summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode." The elven swordsman stared down his enemy as he appeared. (1400) "Then I equip him with Mage Power, granting him 1500 more attack and defense points." (1400-2900/1200-2700) "Take out the Flame Wingman with Silver Blade Strike." He jumped in and air and brought down his sword upon the red and green hero.

Jaden: 1200-400

"I got nothing left for this turn."

"That's fine with me. I play Fifth Hope. So I pick five elemental heroes in my graveyard, shuffle them into my deck and draw two cards. Plus, I get to draw an extra one because my field's empty. Then I'll bring Bubbleman back to my hand with the Warrior Returning Alive and summon him to the field." Jaden's water hero rose again. (800) "With his effect I'll draw two cards. Next I play O-Oversoul, to bring Avian back from the graveyard." The winged hero of wind floated down next to his friend. (1000) "Then I play R-Righteous Justice. This destroys one of your spell of trap cards for each elemental hero I have out" So you can say good bye to Mage Power and one of your face-downs." (2900-1400/2700-1200)

"Okay Jaden. You've played a card with an H, E, R and O. Something tells me there's more to it than just that."

"You're right. And the thing that unites them all is, Hero Flash. All I gotta do is remove from play Heated Heart, Emergency Call, Righteous Justice and Oversoul. Then it allows me to summon a normal elemental hero from my deck. Like… the Elemental Hero Sparkman." The two already present heroes were then joined by the blue and gold electric man. (1600) "Then Hero Flash's second effect let's all my normal heroes attack you directly." Avian created a gust of wind by flapping his wings, to which Sparkman added a stream of electricity from the palm of his hands. The combined attack struck Jeremy head on, taking out a large chunk of his life-points.

Jeremy: 3100-500

"Now I equip Sparkman with Spark Blaster." The plain electric gun appeared in Sparkman's hand. "And I'll use all three shots to switch my monsters to defense mode." Sparkman fired off two blasts at his friends and the last one at his feet, causing all three of them to go down on one knee and the blaster to shatter. (1400) (1000) (1200) "That ends my turn."

"Even with everything that we've seen so far, this is still one impressive comeback," Zane said.

"Yeah, now their life-points are almost tied," Christine added.

"This is still anyone's game though," Alexis pitched in.

"Wow! It's hard to believe, but the duel's getting even better," Gerard exclaimed.

"I'd say so," Bastion agreed.

"Me too," Syrus added.

"Me three," Chumley spoke up.

"Now let's see what else comes up," Erik said

"I activate my remaining face-down, Double Edge Sword Technique to bring back the six samurai Zanji and Irou." The named warriors came back from the grave once again. (1800) (1700) "Now wipe out his heroes." All three of Jeremy's monsters ran forward and struck down Jaden's defending heroes. "Then I'll sacrifice my two samurais to summon Vanity's Ruler." The two samurais disappeared and were replaced by the green haired fairy that had given Jeremy his victory against Bastion. (2500) "I'll finish up by equipping Vanity's Ruler with Raregold Armor, so now you can't attack any other monster but him."

"This is really bad for Jaden," Syrus said.

"No joke," Chumley agreed. "With Vanity's Ruler on Jeremy's field, Jaden can't special summon his monsters, so he can't fuse em."

"And the only monster he has with more attack points is Bladedge," Bastion pointed out. "Not only is it in the graveyard, but he doesn't have any monsters to sacrifice for it."

"Jeremy really has Jaden in a tight spot," Zane commented.

"Even if he had a monster who could damage his guardian enough to give him the victory, he can't attack him anyways because of Raregold Armor."

"This is really bad," Alexis muttered.

Jaden gulped at seeing the situation so much in Jeremy's favour. "Well, I've been in this kind of situation before, and I can beat it again. All I need is the right card."

"Well let's see it then," Jeremy said.

"You got it. Here goes. Sweet!" Jaden exclaimed as he saw the card he'd just drawn. "I play Monster Reincarnation. So I'll toss out Elemental Hero Necroshade to get back Bladedge."

"Necroshade?" Jeremy asked.

"Yep. And the cool part about this, is that when Necroshade is in the graveyard, I'm allowed to summon a high level elemental hero without a sacrifice once. And that counts a normal summon, so you can't stop it with your monster's effect. Now, making his second appearance, Elemental Hero Bladedge." Jaden's golden armored hero took its place on the field one again. (2600) "Attack Vanity's Ruler." Bladedge flew at Jeremy's field and struck down his powerful opponent.

Jeremy: 500-400

"I'll end my turn."

"Alright then." 'Okay, I don't have my shogun in my hand, or any card that could destroy Jaden's monster. I just hope my next card's a good one.' Jeremy placed his hand on top of his deck and drew. 'I may not be able to destroy Bladedge with this card, but Jaden won't be able to hurt me either.' "I sacrifice Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in order to summon Izura, Shien's Guard." The monster that replaced the elven warrior was a woman with blond hair tied in a braid that fell to just below her shoulders. She wore brown clothes, bright red samurai styled armor, a silvery gray headband and carried a crossbow in her hands as she sat down with her legs crossed. (3000) "That's all for now."

"A new monster, hey?" Jaden noted.

"Yup, and thanks to her, Bladedge won't be after my life-points anytime soon. Even if you had Skyscraper on the field, it wouldn't change a thing, especially since she has zero attack points."

"With 3000 defense points, she could hold off many monsters," Bastion said.

"I didn't think there were female monsters in a six samurai deck," Gerard muttered.

"Wow, she's cute!" Syrus exclaimed.

"I saw her first!" Chumley retaliated.

"Well I called her first!"

Erik scoffed at their behaviour. "Tell me those two aren't going nuts over some duel monster chick."

"Alright, then I won't say it," Bastion replied.

"I draw," Jaden announced. "Not much to do except throw down a face-down and call it a turn."

"I activate Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until our hands are full." 'Since I've got these two cards, I might as well have them at the ready,' Jeremy thought to himself. "I'll place two cards face-down and activate Turn Jump. Then I'll use Izura's effect. With it, once per turn, I can send a six samurai monster from my hand to the graveyard. And in return, I get to add one Shien effect monster from my deck or grave straight to my hand. So I'll toss out Nisashi and bring forth Great Shogun Shien."

"But what's the point in doing that?" Syrus asked.

"No worries people, I know what I'm doing. Because Izura has more than one effect. You see, whenever she's on my field in defense mode, I can automatically summon my Shogun from my hand." The tall red armored warlord appeared again. He nodded to Izura who did the same in return. (2500) "Then once again, I'll equip him with Sword of Deep Seated, giving him enough attack to take out Bladedge and the rest of your life-points." Shien's sword changed into the wicked dark blade again. (2500-3000) "Now, Great Shogun Shien, end this duel."

"Oh no you don't," Jaden interrupted. "Because I've got a trap, Edge Hammer. And by sacrificing Bladedge, I can destroy one of your monsters. Then your monster's original attack points, come right out of your life-points." Bladedge glowed with a bright aura of the same color as his body as he awaited the enemy monster.

"Jaden, I've gotta tell you, this has been one great duel," Jeremy complimented his friend.

"You played really well to, Jeremy."

"Thanks man. I may be going down, but I'll be taking you with me. I reveal Paths of Destiny and Bad Reaction to Simochi. Normally we'd both flip a coin to determine if we'd gain or lose 2000 points, but in this situation, it doesn't really matter."

"So that's how it's gonna be. Fine with me. Bladedge, go get im."

"Shien, you too." Both monsters charged at each other and met in a titanic clash that resounded throughout the arena. When the resulting smoke cleared, both monsters were gone and their owners had fallen down to one knee, their life-points now gone.

Jeremy: 400-0

Jaden: 400-0

The people in the audience remained silent for a moment longer and then they suddenly burst out in cheer as if they'd never done it before.

"Way to go!"

"Awesome duel!"

"Best one ever!"

"Wow!" Syrus exclaimed.

"That was totally lishus!"

"I've never seen a duel like this!" Gerard said.

"Amazing, simply amazing!" Bastion added.

While Erik remained silent, he still smiled as he clapped with the others.

"I guess neither of them was going to walk out of here with two losses," Zane said.

"They were just too evenly matched that it had to finish with a draw," Christine pitched in.

"But they sure gave everyone quite a show," Alexis added.

"We have two winners!" Sheppard announced after a moment's deliberation. "As a result, there will be two separate matches so that both Jaden and Jeremy can take part in the school duel."

"Not only is there going to be one Slifer slacker at the school duel, but now there's two," Crowler moaned. "I can't believe those two are representing us, representing me."

"Great duel Jaden," Jeremy said as he got to his feet.

"Same to you," he replied. The two walked to the middle and grasped each other's hand and shook it firmly.

"How cool it this? Both of us are going to be in the school duel."

"This is gonna be sweet! School duel, get your game on! Cause here we come!" Jaden pumped his fist in the air.

"North Academy, we're gonna rock your world!"

* * *

Okay, this was one of the chapters that I had the most fun making, and I hope you had as much fun reading. Reviews are always appreciated (of course, if you're being a real douche, then it's not so pleasant), but that hasn't happened much, so no worries.

Here are the cards I made up for this chapter.

**Izura, Shien's Guard**

Atk/Def: 0/3000

Attr: Water

Type: Warrior

Lv: 5

Effect: Once per turn, you can discard one 'six samurai' monster to add a 'shien' effect monster from your deck or graveyard to your hand. You can special summon 'Great Shogun Shien' from your hand if this card is on your field in face-up defense mode.

Image: A woman with blond hair tied in a braid. She wears brown robes, bright red samurai armor, a silvery gray headband and carries a crossbow in her hands.

**Heroic Defense**

Normal Spell

Effect: If you control at least one 'Elemental Hero', flip one of them face-down. If you control none, flip one of your opponent's monsters face-down.

Image: Avian and Burstinatrix kneeling down.

**Elemental Recovery**

Normal Spell

Effect: Activate only when you control at least one monster with 'Elemental Hero' in its name. Remove from play one 'Polymerization' from your graveyard to add one of your spells cards in your graveyard to your hand.

Image: Elemental Hero Necroshade holding a 'Polymerization' card in its hands.

**Next chapter:** Jeremy has a practice duel against Alexis and later, Jaden faces a strange Obelisk kid.


	28. It's Time for Practice, and Mokeys

Disclaimer: I own Yugioh GX *Receives the look of doom from a figure standing in the shadows* Okay, okay! I don't own Yugioh GX

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**It's Time for Practice, and Mokeys**

Given that it was the weekend, Duel Academy's faculty and student population were generally relaxing, among other things. It was a bright sunny day, the big blue sky populated by the occasionally bushy white cloud. The sunlight shone through and illuminated the island's surface, casting a warming glow around. One of the people just relaxing, happened to be Jeremy Wheeler. He'd found a lawn chair and had carried it up to one of the outside levels of the main building. He was currently just lying comfortably on the chair with his cards laid out before him and his disk set aside, deciding how to arrange his deck for the school duel.

"Let's see then," he muttered to himself. "I think I'll stick in this monster here, take out this spell, trade in that trap for this one…" As he played around with his cards, he picked up the card representing his duel spirit, who chose that moment to emerge. "Hey there, buddy."

"_Hello, Jeremy. I can see that you're hard at work_."

"Hey, it's not that easy to decide how to arrange my deck," he replied.

"_I hope you have a place for me in there._"

"Don't worry yourself, I'll always have a place in my deck just for you."

"_Thank you, Jeremy._"

"It's no problem. You're welcome."

"Hey, Jeremy!" Christine's voice called out from the stairs leading to the roof.

"_I'll let you go, before your girlfriend arrives_."

Jeremy blushed at his spirit's choice of words. "You'd better just shut up and leave before I reconsider keeping a place for you in my deck," he mumbled.

"_So long then._" A grin on its face, the monkey duel spirit then disappeared with a tip of its hat.

"Jeremy, there you are," Christine said as she joined him on the roof, followed by Alexis.

"Hey girls," he greeted them. "How's life going around?"

"Pretty good," Christine answered.

"Same here," Alexis added. "So, how's your deck coming along?"

"I'd say it's looking good," he replied. "There's still a chance I might throw in a few changes, but nothing big."

"You set for the school duel?" the blue haired girl asked.

"You better believe it! This is gonna be fun! My cards and I are gonna be really for some hard hitting action!"

"I can see that," Alexis said. "Well, since you're so ready for action, maybe you wouldn't mind taking me on in a duel right now." She held up her duel disk with her deck.

"Sounds fun. This could be good practice for the school duel. And I've never faced off against you before." Jeremy then put together the cards he'd chosen for his deck, picked up his duel disk and got up from the chair. He attached his disk to his arm and inserted his deck and he and Alexis stood facing each other, while Christine was off to the side.

"Ready Jeremy?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Let's duel!"

Jeremy: 4000

Alexis: 4000

"I'll start things up… by activating the spell card, Six Samurai United, which get's a bushido counter when I summon one of my samurais. Then I'll bust out this guy, Marauding Captain, in attack mode." A blond man wearing a set of armor, a cape and wielding two swords appeared on Jeremy's field. (1200) "And his special ability let's me summon a new monster, as long as it's level four or below. Like this one, The Six Samurai Yariza." The blue armoured warrior took his place next to Jeremy's captain. (1000) "And that's it for now."

"Have I got a girl for you. I summon Blade Skater." A woman wearing a greyish purple skin suit with skate blades on her feet and arms appeared in front of Alexis. (1400) "Now attack his captain with Accel Slicer." The female monster skated towards Jeremy's field and struck the twin sword warrior with the blade on her right arm.

Jeremy: 4000-3800

"I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Nice move, Lex," Christine commented.

"Not a bad start," Jeremy admitted. "But here comes payback. So I summon The Six Samurai Zanji in attack mode." The red gold armoured samurai stood tall next to his ally. (1800) "Then I'll have him take out your Blade Skater with Samurai's Strike of Honor." Jeremy's strongest monster dashed forward at his opponent.

"I reveal my trap card, Double Passé. Now your samurai's attack is changed to a direct attack on me." Blade Skater jumped aside, allowing for Zanji to hit Alexis' duel disk instead of her monster.

Alexis: 4000-2200

"But as I'm sure you remember, it doesn't leave me empty handed. Because now my Blade Skater gets to launch a direct attack on you." The female warrior rushed towards Jeremy, leapt over his monsters and came down on him with her arm blade, though he managed to block it with his disk.

Jeremy: 3800-2400

"Oh yeah, well this isn't the only direct attack that gonna happen. Cause Yariza's effect allows him to bypass your monster and hit your life-points directly so long as I have another six samurai monster on the field. And as you can see, Zanji's standing tall. Go Yariza, Blazing Spear." Though he was the weakest warrior, Yariza lacked no spirit as he jumped high up and hurled his spear at the Obelisk girl.

Alexis: 2200-1200

"I'll finish up by throwing this little number face-down."

"Good going you two," Christine encouraged them. "Like how the duel's going so far."

"Thanks," they both said.

"My turn then. And I activate the spell card Polymerization. So I can fuse together Blade Skater with the Etoile Cyber in my hand. All to create, Cyber Blader." The two monsters twirled around one another and when they stopped, there was Alexis' signature monster, sporting her orange suit and blue visor. (2100) "And thanks to her special ability, since you have two monsters on the field, her attack points double." (2100-4200)

"Oh boy," Jeremy said upon seeing her monster's attack points shoot up.

"Attack his Six Samurai Yariza with Whirlwind Rage." The female skater spun around on herself as she advanced to deal the finishing blow.

"I play my face-down, Spell Textbook. So I get rid of all the cards in my hand draw one from my deck and hope it's a spell. Cause if it is, I get to activate it immediately. So here goes... Yes!" Jeremy exclaimed as he saw the card he just drawn. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Marauding Captain in defense mode." The blond man rose on the field, kneeling down besides his allies. (400) "And With his special ability, you can't attack any other warriors but him."

"Sorry Jeremy, but that's not quite true."

"Huh? Wadda you mean Alexis?"

"Let me explain it for you. Since you have three monsters on the field, Cyber Blader's effect changes. Sure, she may lose her extra attack points." (4200-2100) "But now the effects of all your monster, magic and trap cards are negated. So she can still destroy Yariza." The spinning monster continued on her course and delivered a slashing skate to the spear wielding samurai.

Jeremy: 2400-1300

"With him gone, my Blader's attack points go up again." (2100-4200) "I'll leave it at that."

"Ouch," Jeremy said. "I may have gotten away from that, but you sure caught me off guard with your Blader's effect changing."

"You've got to stay on the top of your game and expect this kind of thing, Jeremy," Alexis spoke up.

"Yeah Jeremy, If you don't keep it up, you might not do too well at the school duel."

"Don't worry girls, I'll be fine. In this duel, and against North Academy. And while I'm at it, it's my turn." 'This card could be useful," Jeremy thought as he looked at the card he drew. "But it'd only be worth much if I had another Six Samurai monster ready to summon. And even if I did, her blader's effect would just negate any advantage it could give me. Guess I'll just have to wait.' "I switch Zanji to defense mode and end my turn." The named warrior dropped down to one knee. (1300)

"All right then. I activate Pot of Greed, which of course, let's me draw two cards. And I follow up with Fusion Recovery and The Warrior Returning Alive. Thanks to these, I can add Etoile Cyber, Blade Skate, and Polymerization from my graveyard to my hand. Now I'll play Polymerization, fusing my two monsters to summon a second Cyber Blader." A mirror image of Alexis' monster appeared beside the first. (2100)

"Whoa!" Jeremy exclaimed. "I'm seeing double... And trouble too."

"You're right about that one. And just like my first Blader, my second's attack points go up because you have two monsters." (2100-4200) "Bladers, attack." The two female monsters grabbed the other's hands and both spun around, creating a whirlwind of orange and blue and wiped out Jeremy's line of defense. (4200-2100) "That's all for this turn."

"Okay then, I'd better get something good right now, or this might be it for me." Jeremy placed his hand on his deck for a moment before he pulled out the top card. "Nice! I activate the spell, Gateway of the Six." An imposing dark gate with a glowing symbol on the door rose from the floor behind Jeremy. "Hey Alexis, ever heard the saying 'Fight Fire with Fire'?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because that's what I'm about to do. See, I figure that the best way to take down your girls is with one of my own."

"Wait! One of?"

"Yep, you hear me alright. Izura isn't the only female monster in my deck. Now let's give a warm welcome to… Hand of the Six Samurai." A woman of small build with a serious expression on her face appeared on Jeremy's field. Her head was covered with a silky white scarf, she wore long purple and yellow robes with the same symbol on them as the gateway, and she carried a jewelled dagger at her side. (1600) Two symbols glowed on the gateway.

"Nice monster," Alexis commented.

"Thanks. Now, since I just summoned a six samurai monster, Gateway of the Six gets two bushido counters and Six Samurai United gets a third. Now I'm gonna activate my Gateway's second effect. By removing four bushido counters from my side of the field, I'm allowed to add any six samurai monster from my deck or graveyard to my hand. So I'll remove the two from Gateway of the Six and the rest from Six Samurai United, which lets me grab Grandmaster of the Six Samurai from my deck. And thanks to his effect, I can summon him to the field." Jeremy's one eyes warrior rose next to his female monster. (2100) Again, the two symbols glowed on the gateway.

"Well since you have two monsters out, both of mine have their points doubled." (2100-4200)

"It's all good, cause I get more bushido counters. But even better, I can now use Hand of the Six Samurai's special ability. You see, by sacrificing another six samurai, she destroys one of your monsters." The grandmaster faded away. Jeremy's feminine warrior placed the tip of her fingers to her lips and twisted her hand to the side of her mouth and she pursed her lips and blew. When she did so, a thin stream of fire came from her mouth, flowing across the field, wrapping around one of the Cyber Bladers and destroying it.

"That's one special ability," Alexis commented. "Guess it was my turn to be caught off guard."

"You aren't the only one who can pull off something unexpected. Now I'll remove four more bushido counters from my side of the field and bring my Grandmaster of the Six Samurai back to my hand to repeat the cycle." The seals on the gateway faded as Jeremy took back his Grandmaster. The elderly warrior appeared on the field, only to leave right after as his ally did the same movements as before and blew flames at Alexis remaining monster, thus destroying her. "And since you're now defenseless... Hand of the Six Samurai, attack her directly." Jeremy's monster pulled out her sheathed dagger and ran over to Alexis, striking her duel disk with a quick swing that took away the rest of her life-points.

Alexis: 1200-0

"And that's that. Nice duel Alexis," Jeremy congratulated.

"Good duel," Christine added. "Both of you did well."

"Well done Jeremy. With moves like that, I'm sure you'll be ready for the school duel. Speaking of which, do you think you've got room in your deck for my Etoile Cyber? She could really give you a boost."

"You want something better than that," Christine jumped in. "How something really good, like my Dark Armed Dragon?"

"Umm..." Jeremy muttered as he thought things over. "You know what? I think I'll just lie down for a bit while I think about this." He then went back to the lawn chair, took off his disk, set it on the ground and lay back. A brief moment later, and the two Obelisk girls could hear him snoring already.

"Well, it sure didn't take him long to fall asleep," Alexis commented.

"No joke. Wait a sec!" Christine said as an idea came to her. "Alexis, tell me you have a marker or a pen on you."

"What for? What're you gonna-?" She then looked at Jeremy, then her friend. "You don't mean to say..."

"Hey, how could I pass up such a perfect opportunity?"

Alexis laughed a little as she passed a blue marked to Christine. "You are so mean."

She simply smiled back at her. She then proceeded to draw on Jeremy's face, giving him a long twirly moustache, goatee, big bushy eyebrow above his actual ones and a bunch of spots all around. "There, it's done." Alexis had to refrain from laughing out loud at seeing Jeremy's face. "Come on, let's leave him before he wakes up and finds out." The two girls then left him alone on the chair, ignorant of what had been done to him.

* * *

Meanwhile on another part of the island, Dr. Crowler was walking on a path through the forest. He was obviously angry, a fact that was given off by the tone of his voice. "I can't believe Jaden and Jeremy are going to be the students representing Duel Academy for the School duel! What an embarrassment! I won't let it take place! No no no no! I'll do whatever I must to stop them, which brings me here." 'Here', turned out to be a small area surrounded by a perimeter of wired fence with a henhouse on the inside as well as other such constructions for chicken. "To the site of Duel Academy's most dangerous specimen."

A group of roosters cried out when they saw him enter. "Oh, not you, bird brains!" They all leapt off their perch at Crowler, pulling at his hair and coat. "This is such a foul predicament!" he freaked out as he ran towards a sand box. He cleared the sand away from one spot until it gave way to a hatch. "Ah, the secret entrance." Unfortunately for him, just as he opened it, all the winged inhabitants converged on him. "Back off! I don't want to ruffle any feathers!" In his frenzy, he tumbled down the hole, along with a few chickens who'd attached themselves to him. "You're really egging me on!"

He fell at the bottom with a thump. There was another hatch at the side, which he quickly went through. "Okay, the yoke's over!" He grabbed the three chickens that were clinging onto him and hurled them back through the last hatch. "You belong in a bucket!" He then closed the hatch behind him. He was now in a small room with metal walls all around, and what looked like a pair space suits accompanied by headsets sitting on a bench next to him.

"It's just like they say, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs." He got up and started to put on one of the suits. "And now it's time to break those two Slifers, starting with Jaden." When he was finished, he opened the next door and stepped on a catwalk that extended towards a large dome in the middle of the room. "I mean, after all, with what is lurking in this containment vault, he won't stand a chance." Crowler swiped a card through a security reader and the dome's door split open.

"Belowski," he called out. "Are you there? It's your old friend, Dr. Crowler. There's a young duelist I'd like you to meet. I know it's been a while, he deserves a lesson from the academy's best."

* * *

While Jeremy's attitude in regard to the upcoming school duel may have been chill, Jaden was a little more stressed out. He was sitting down in one of the classrooms, with his cards spread out in front of him and trying to decide how to arrange his deck. "Eenie, meenie, mieny, mo," he mumbled to himself. "Catch a monster by the toe. If he stinks, then let im go." He then despaired and rested his head on top of his cards.

He was then approached by Bastion, Syrus, Alexis, Christine and Chumley. "You know," the Ra student spoke up, "my Water Dragon would make a fine addition to your deck for the school duel."

"That Water Dragon is a total washout," Alexis said. "You need something strong, like Etoile Cyber."

"Dark Armed Dragon could really lend a hand," Christine added.

"How about Des Koala?" Chumley asked.

"You can use my Powerbond if you need," Syrus suggested.

"What I need is some time to think!" Jaden cried out.

"There's no need to be rude Jaden, we're only trying to help," Bastion explained.

"After all, you've been selected as one of Duel Academy's representatives for the school duel," Christine filled in.

"And if you don't win, it's going to be a huge disappointment," Alexis added.

"Aww come on! Like there's not enough pressure on me already! I know the school's counting on me, but all I can duel is me best."

"You're absolutely right. Dueling isn't about trophies, it's about being the best you can," Bastion said.

"Yeah," Alexis agreed.

"And the best needs the power of my Water Dragon card."

"Or Powerbond."

"Or Etoile Cyber."

"More like Dark Armed Dragon."

"Des Koala all the way."

"Come on now! Why aren't any of you chasing after Jeremy and asking him to use your cards?"

"Because he's installed on a lawn chair and he's sleeping on the roof," Christine explained. "So-"

"That's it! If I'm ever going to arrange my deck I need to be alone." Jaden quickly picked up his cards, duel disk and ran away from them.

"Good call," Bastion said as they ran after him. "Let's lose these guys." He ran out the classroom, down the hall and turned into a closet.

"Jaden, wait up," Syrus complained as they went by. Jaden then got out and ran towards the stairs.

"We just want to help," Christine called out.

"I want to help you be alone," Bastion said.

"You can't be alone all by yourself," Alexis added.

"Funny," Jaden said to himself as he ran up the stairs. "No one's ever this helpful when I'm doing my laundry." Eventually he came off the stairs and ended up on the roof.

"Sup dude?" He looked up and saw a short black haired Obelisk Blue boy lying down with his blazer hanging loosely around his back.

"No offense, but I was kinda hoping to find some peace and quiet. What're you doing up here?"

"I'm here to duel you Jaden."

"Who are you?"

"Just a dude with a deck. Call me Belowski. You ever notice how clouds looks like duel monsters if you look really close? And by the way, your friend's got a real piece of art all over his face," he pointed towards where Jeremy was lying on the chair.

"What're you-?" Jaden stopped mid sentence when he saw the drawings all over his friend's face. He then burst out laughing so hard that Jeremy woke up.

"Huh? Who? Wha? Oh, hey Jaden. Who's that guy?" he indicated Belowski. "And while I'm at it, what're you laughing at?"

"You should really see your face," he managed to say between his bouts of laughter.

"What's with it?"

"Here dude." Belowski tossed him a small box that opened up into a mirror.

Jeremy finally got a good look at himself, and froze. "Jaden," he said slowly. "Did you do this?"

"No, I swear I didn't."

"Then who-?" His mind then rewound back a little and came up with the most likely culprit. "Aww, this is just too much!"

"It's okay there," Belowski said. "It's not permanent or anything."

Jeremy wiped the sleeve of his jacket fervently across his face, until he'd gotten enough of it off so that only a few faint traces remained. "Thanks," he said as he tossed back the pocket mirror. "What's your name by the way."

"You can just call be Belowski."

"Ok then."

Jaden's Winged Kuriboh then chose that moment to emerge from his deck. "Hey there Kuriboh." Shien's Footsoldier also made an appearance.

"Nice Kuriboh," Belowski commented. "I hear they like to be scratched behind the wings."

"Wait, you can see spirits?" Jeremy asked.

"Of course. I can see your monkey dude too." He waved to Jeremy's spirit who returned the greeting.

"_How're you doing?_"

"Anyhow, let's duel, Jaden."

"Again with the duelling? He must think I'm easy pickings cause I'm red," Jaden said to his spirit.

"Red, blue, who cares? Those are just symbols the man uses to try to propagate social divisions. See, it's all a conspiracy of the political industrial complex to permeate so called free market."

"Ooookaaaay," Jeremy spoke slowly.

"Sure, whatevs. Let's just throw down."

"Jaden, there you are."

"Hey, you guys are just in time," he greeted his friends.

"Just in time for what?" Syrus asked. "And who's that Obelisk over there?"

"Well, he's gonna be my opponent."

"Oh Jaden," Crowler said to himself from his elevated perch on one of the columns. "One Belowski uses his special skills, you won't be able to compete in the school duel. Or anywhere else. Good thing I pulled my protective armor out of the closet. Otherwise, I'd end up in the stupor they're all about to be in."

Jeremy joined up with the others and stood off to the side as Jaden and Belowski faced off. "Get your game on!" Jaden said.

Belowski: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"Yeah man, whatever. First I'm gonna summon Mokey Mokey in defense mody mody." A small rectangular figure appeared in a poof in front of the Obelisk boy. It had short stubby arms and legs, little wings, lines for its eyes and mouth, along with a red question mark over its head. (100)

Alexis, Bastion, Christine, Chumley and Syrus were all entranced by it. "Goodness me, it's not a duel monster, it's a marshmallow," the Ra student spoke up.

"He's just too cute," Christine added.

"Like a great big fluffy pillow," Alexis pitched in.

"Makes me wanna take a nap."

"Well you that you mention it, me too," Chumley yawned.

"This is a little weird," Jeremy said.

"_I second that._"

"I guess I'll just toss down a couple and chill now."

"My turn. And what a turn it'll be. I summon, Elemental Hero Sparkman, in attack mode." The blue and gold electric hero rose in front of Jaden. (1600) "Then I'll play, Polymerization. And since Avian and Burstinatrix are in my hand, I can fuse them into, the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." Jaden's signature monster appeared beside his first. (2100) "Well, you still want duel me now?"

"Totally, man," Belowski said as he clapped his hands. "Those monsters look righteous."

"Righteous? That's not the reaction I was hoping for."

"Go on, Jaden. Fry that little white... thing," Jeremy encouraged his friend.

"Yeah, you're right. An attack otta knock some sense into him. Go Sparkman." The electric hero leapt into the air.

"You attack will not stand man. I've gotta a trap card, Human-Wave Tactics. At the end of each turn, I can summon a monster from my deck that's the same level as one that's been destroyed. They have to be level two or below, but it's about the balance man, the yin and yang."

"Whatever that means, my Sparkman's attack's still standing." Jaden's monster came down upon the white creature, hitting it with an electric fist. "And with Mokey Mokey out of the way, Flame Wingman can attack you directly." The named monster jumped in the air and was covered with fire. He then hit the Obelisk boy with a flying kick that knocked him down.

Belowski: 4000-1900

"And now I'll call it a turn."

"Way to go, Jayman," Jeremy said.

"That was very unchill dude. But now I can summon Happy Lover thanks to Human Wave Tactics." The newest monster was a round orange ball with a face, a heart on its forehead and two pairs of pink wings. (800) "And since Happy Lover likes to share the love, I'll bring out his bud Mokey Mokey in attack Mody Mody." A second plain white creature appeared. (300)

"_Mokey Mokey,_" it said.

"He has such a calming presence," Bastion said.

"Mokey Mokey makes everything so chill," Alexis added.

"Makes me feel fuzzy and warm," Syrus pitched in. Chumley just yawned.

"I just wanna hug the little Mokey." Jeremy had a look of surprise on his face at seeing Christine's reaction.

"That's just the beginning man. I play Mokey Mokey Smackdown. Then I think I'll attack your Sparkman with my Happy Lover."

"What for? My Sparkman has way higher voltage than your Lover."

"I know, but it's all good. Go Gushy Burst." The winged ball flew up in the air and fired a blast of pink energy at Sparkman, who simply smacked it back at its originator with ease.

Belowski: 1900-1100

At seeing his friend destroyed, Mokey Mokey suddenly became rather agitated. Then its body puffed out, turned a dark pink color, the question mark above its head turned into an exclamation mark, its wings expanded and it trembled with rage.

"Wow!" Alexis exclaimed. "Look at Mokey Mokey go!"

"I could just watch him for days," Bastion said.

"Yeah, he's the best," Christine added.

"He sure is. Cause since Sparkman just destroyed a fairy type monster, my Mokey Mokey Smackdown activates. And that raises Mokey Mokey's attack points to 3000. Far out huh? Power to the Mokey Mokey."

"No way!" Jaden said.

"Brilliant move!"

"That Mokey Mokey is just something else!"

"Still warm and fuzzy."

"_Jaden's in deep_."

"No joke, and it started out with a little monster." (300-3000)

"You go Mokey Mokey," the spectators, minus Jeremy, cheered.

"Yes, and we're going right there with you," Bastion added.

"Come on!" Jaden faced his entranced friends. "Just who are you rooting for?"

"You have to ask? Mokey Mokey," Bastion answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Both Jaden and Jeremy did an anime style fall in shock. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, I was about to have Mokey Mokey attack your Flame Wingman. Don't worry, the Mokey Mokey wave is full of good vibrations. Well, not good for your wingman." The pink creature flapped its wings and sent vibrations from its body towards the Flame Wingman, who was instantly destroyed.

Jaden: 4000-3100

"Mokey Mokey," the others cheered as they were sitting down. "Mokey Mokey."

"What's going on with you guys?" The two standing Slifers asked.

"They're feeling the moke."

"Care to explain a bit?" Jeremy asked.

"The Moke's about harmony, dudes. And there's more where that came from. I'm playing Mystic Wok. And like a sizzling plate of kungpow tofu, Mystic Wok Refills my energy. But balance is the key. I only get life-points equal to the attack or defense of a monster I sacrifice. So I'll give up Moky Moky. And that's three grand in points."

Belowski: 1100-4100

"And cause Happy Lover's gone, Human Wave Tactics restores balance of my universe. I just gotta choose which balance. I'm thinking... Haniwa is my type of Zen." A small egglike creature with holes for eyes and a nose, as well as a pair of arms and stubby feet sticking out from underneath it took its place. (500)

"Haniwa?"

"What next?"

"Hey Jaden, you gotta chill out man," Bastion said.

"Come on Jeremy," Christine joined in. "Get in the groove, will ya?"

"Dudes, you're surrounded by the negative energy," Alexis added. "You can't bring that to a duel."

"What!"

"Sing our mantra man?"

"Mantra!" Jaden freaked.

"Mokey Mokey."

"What did you do to them?" Jaden asked.

"Freed their minds man."

"Mokey Mokey."

Crowler then jumped off the pillar he'd been lying on, using the suit's booster pack to fly down. "Hello boys," he greeted Jaden and Jeremy. "I see you've met one of my favourite students, Belowski. I just love him. Well, when I'm safe from his powers."

"Uhh, powers?" Jaden wondered.

"His powers. You see, he's a very special duelist. He was left on the academy's doorstep as a baby, and quickly became a master duelist. As a mere child, he rose through the ranks of the academy. It was then that strange things began to happen."

"Oh, you mean the way he talks?" Jeremy asked. "Big whoop!"

"No, I mean how Moky Mokey comes alive when he duels with him. Powers and all. Powers that lull everyone around him into a lazy daze. Like your friends, and soon, like you."

"No wonder."

"Mokey Mokey!" By now, Chumley had fallen asleep and was snoring away.

"It's cool man, they aren't in any danger or anything. Mokey Mokey makes them feel nice and cozy."

"Indeed. It once made all the students feel that way. Which is why we had to move Belowski. We built him a new home, a titanium encased holographic chamber deep underground."

"You mean a jail," Jaden noted.

"Jail is such an ugly word. We prefer mandatory restraint habitat. It was actually quite nice inside. Like an island paradise."

"Yeah, sure it was. And just like an island, he was completely stranded there"

"Nah man, it's all good. I just chill, and then every time there's a student Dr. C wants me to take care of, I get to come out. You know, duel, whatever. That's a pretty sweet gig. Plus, I get plenty of time to hang with my monster crew and spin our wheels and stuff. And dude, we have some deep talks, we're totally unravelling the universe. You should join us."

"No thanks, we're good here," Jaden replied.

"_Coo!_"

"Yeah, what Jaden said."

"_I'll be sticking around with Jeremy._"

"Dueling is our thing. So how about we get back to it?"

"Hey, that's chill."

"Alright then. I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart." The muscle-bound tribal hero appeared next to Sparkman. (1500) "Now go, attack Haniwa." The new warrior leapt up and drew in sword at the apex of his jump, descending on the egglike being with a downward strike. "Next up, Sparkman. Light up his world." The electric hero thrust the palm of his hand forward. Crowler got out of the way as the blast of electricity hit Belowski and knocked him over.

Belowski: 4100-2500

"Then I'll throw down a face-down and end my turn."

"Yeah! Now that's how you duel!" Jeremy cheered for his friend.

"Dude... you know you're a real party pooper, man. Good thing I got Human-Wave Tactics so I can summon a new Happy Lover." Another round orange monster with wings appeared on the field. (800)

"Belowski, shouldn't they be nodding off by now!" Crowler frantically pointed at Jaden at Jaden and Jeremy. "Mokey Mokey is supposed to drain them. But no! Just look, they're fine! Just check out all their friends!" Jaden and Jeremy turned their attention away from the duel and noticed that the others were all fast asleep. Jeremy also noticed the fact that Christine was leaning against his leg. He gently tried to reclaim his limb, but she was just clinging on enough that he couldn't get her off.

"Anyone says a word about this, and I'll kick them all the way to the moon," he threatened.

"Oh yeah? How're you gonna do that?" Jaden taunted. Jeremy simply grumbled and pried Christine away from his leg, setting her gently against the ground.

"Belowski, why aren't these two like the others!" Crowler shrieked.

"Search me dude."

"That's your answer?"

"It's cool. Watch, I'm gonna use my Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards. Far out! I got Dark Factory of Mass Production. It may sound totalitarian, but it lets me bring two monsters to my hand. And I'll pick two Mokey Mokey since I'm already holding the third. That way I can use Polymerization to fuse them all together to summon out this little guy." Another Mokey Mokey appeared behind Belowski. Despite the distance it held itself, they had no problem seeing it, given that it was almost the size of the main building. (300)

"Little friend!"

"That's freaking huge!"

"You got that right. He's Mokey Mokey King. Now check out his king wave." The gigantic monster sent out vibrations which mostly focussed on Wildheart.

"Wildheart, use your Wild Slash on that thing." The named monster jumped high, dragging his sword down across the white creature.

Belowski: 2500-1300

The original three Mokey Mokey then appeared on the Obelisk boy's field. (300) x3 "That was totally awesome! But the circle of life must go on. From one comes many, dude. And the king's special ability bring back all three Mokeys."

"All three at once?"

"That's just great." The three white monsters sent out vibrations and growled angrily. They were enough to crack helmet of Crowler's suit and send him crashing to the ground, now subjugated to the same effect as Bastion, Christine, Alexis, Syrus and Chumley.

"Now, Happy Lover, attack Wildheart. Gushy Burst." The round creature shot a blast of pink energy at the tribal warrior, who easily smacked it back with his hand.

Belowski: 1300-600

Belowski's three other monsters all puffed up angrily and turned pink. "Aww man, look what you did to my little Mokey Mokeys. Good thing my Smackdown card's still in effect. Cause now their attack points all go up to 3000." (300-3000)

"Three monsters with 3000 attack points!"

"That's not sweet!" Jaden said.

"Mokey Mokey one, go get that Wildheart." The first pinkish monster sent out vibrations that blew apart Jaden's hero.

Jaden: 3100-1600

"Mokey Mokey dos, you're on the Sparkman." The second one sent vibrations at Jaden's remaining defense.

"That's enough! Go, Hero Barrier. As long as I have at least one Elemental Hero on the field, this trap card lets me negate one of your Mokey Mokey attacks this turn." A shield of pulsating blue light appeared in front of Sparkman, protecting him from the attack.

"Nice move man. But I still got one more Mokey." Sparkman attempted to brace himself the final Mokey Mokey struck, but he was overcome regardless.

Jaden: 1600-200

"And now cause of Human-Wave Tactics, I'm allowed to bring another Happy Lover for another go around." A third orange spherical monster appeared. (800) "And I'll play this way cool trap card. It's called Gift of the Mystic Elf, course it's not wrapped. Still, it's full of good karma. I get 300 life-points for every monster out." (3000-300) x3

Belowski: 600-1800

"Whoa, that was a close one," Jeremy said.

"You're not looking too hot," Belowski commented. "You wanna take a burrito break of something?"

"Maybe later. Right now, I'm summoning, Elemental Hero Bubbleman." The blue suited water hero stood tall on Jaden's field. (800)

"I'm impressed, dude. How do you keep duelling after all we put you through?"

"Cause I don't give up! Especially in a duel this much fun. I'm gonna be fighting till the end."

"You tell im Jay!"

"Now, when I summon Bubbleman all by himself, I get to draw two cards. And I'm gonna activate one of them, Hero Heart. It lets one of my Elemental Heroes attack twice, as long as I cut his attack points in half." (800-400) "Bubbleman, attack Mokey Mokey. Bubble Blast." The blue hero shot a blast of water from the pipe attached to his arm. It struck one of the white creatures, destroying it and enraging the others.

Belowski: 1800-1700

(300-3000) x2 "You did it now, Smackdown activates and raises my other two's attack points to 3000."

"That sounds like my kind of fight. Bubbleman, attack Mokey Mokey again." Bubbleman fired off another blast of water at one of the angry monsters. "Now I'll activate Bubble Illusion. When Bubbleman's on the field and I play this, I can activate a trap card from my hand. And what better trap card than Mirror Gate. Now our monsters switch sides. My Bubbleman for your Mokey Mokey." The hero and one of the Mokey Mokeys disappeared and reappeared on the other's side of the field. The blast of water hit the Moky with no effect but to anger it further. "Alright! Now give im a taste of his own Mokey." The monster in question sent out vibrations and the water hero.

"This is... a bummer, man." The resulting explosion knocked Belowski back, who's life-points went down to zero.

Belowski: 1700-0

"That's game. And what a game! I actually thought you had me a few times."

"Way to duel, Jay!" Jeremy high fived his friend.

"Yeah, but I don't get it. Why didn't you guys trance out?"

"Why would I? When I sleep, I dream of duelling."

"Yeah, me too," Jeremy added.

"Ohhh, I understand. You guys love duelling so much, the more Mokey Mokey tried to zonk you out, the more revved up you got."

"Yep, you got it."

"Good to know, for next time. For now, I need a nice long nap. Later." The Obelisk Blue boy then tipped over and fell asleep.

"What! Is anyone awake around here?"

"Only you and me, Jaden."

"Aww, come on! This is just nuts! Hey, the clouds do kinda look like duel monsters."

"Yeah, you're right."

* * *

Hiya everyone! As usual, reviews are appreciated. Sorry to say this, but I had to block anonymous reviews because of some big meanie who persisted in saying things to me that weren't very nice. Anyways, hope you liked this.

**Next chapter:** It's almost time for the school duel. But since Chazz has been out of the spotlight for a while, it's time to let him let him shine a bit.


	29. Let's Hear it for the Chazz

Disclaimer: Can you believe it? I still don't own Yugioh GX.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Let's Hear it for the Chazz**

Though more than one of Duel Academy's residents has asked themselves where in the world Chazz was, none of them really knew the answer. And as it happened, at the moment, the Obelisk Blue boy in question hardly knew himself. His family's yacht on which he'd left Academy Island was now somewhere in the middle of an unknown body of water, with a layer of mist surrounding the area. Its rear had also sunk down a little, although it was currently immobile. Chazz himself was sitting on the deck, his back against the railing, while he cursed his predicament.

"Lousy scrubs. It's all their fault. Dr. Crowler, Bastion, Jeremy… Jaden!"

In his mind he could see a vision of Jaden next to him. "Hey Chazz," the Jaden illusion spoke up. "Come on, let's go! Get your game on!"

"Quiet!" he shot back. "I'm gonna wipe that ugly grin right off your face."

"Hey, take your best shot."

"If only I could." He picked up his duel disk, put it on his arm and activated it. "One more duel, that's all I want."

"Really? That's all you want? I'd want not to be stranded."

Chazz swung his arm with his duel disk at his vision of Jaden, the power then fading away. Chazz started to laugh a laughter that could have been perceived as a little insane. "Stranded? I'm not stranded, I'm perfectly fine." He picked up a water bottle and put it to his mouth, but only a drop came out. "A little thirsty maybe."

"Know what I'm thirsty for?" the imaginary Jaden asked. "Another duel where I beat you." Chazz growled angrily at this. "I'm downright parched for it."

"Duel this!" Chazz flung the water bottle at the result of his imagination. "Oh no!" he cried out, then tried to reach out for it, but doing so caused him to go overboard and fall into the water. "I'll get you for this, slacker," Chazz thought to himself, before being overcome by unconsciousness.

* * *

"Hey! Hey boss," a strange new voice called out. "Rise and shine. Up and at em. Helloooooo! Come one, wake up! Alright, guess I'll have to do my wake up dance." His eyes still closed, Chazz swung ar arm at the source of this new voice and batter it away.

A drop of water then fell on his cheek, causing him to open his eyelids. "Good morning young duelist," someone else spoke.

Chazz took into account that he was in some rounded metal cylindrical structure. He took note of the fact that it was rather damp inside and that there was water on the floor. He then looked at the figure who had spoken. The individual was sitting down opposite him, wearing an oversized coat, gray gloves, a mask that hid all his face and had what looked like a trail of seaweed like scarves covering him. "What's going on?" the obelisk boy asked. "Or better yet, what're you?"

The person chuckled lightly at him. "I'm the person who saved your life. And for now, that's all you need to know."

"Hey, wait a sec!" Chazz looked at the duel disk on his arm, seeing that the deck slot was empty. "Those are my cards," he indicated the dueling cards the person held in their hands. "Give em back right now!"

"Oh! Certainly, how very rude of me. Here you go." But instead of giving them back to Chazz, he dropped them into the water at his feet. "Whoopsie!"

"You jerk!"

"Relax." He tossed Chazz another card which he caught in his hand. "This card more than makes up for it."

"Yeah, well it better. What!" he said upon seeing the card. It was a monster with the image being a small yellow creature with flimsy arms, legs and its eyes at the tip of a pair of stalks. Slobber dripped from its wide open mouth and it wore a red bikini bottom. It was labeled as 'Ojama Yellow'. "Some no name monster! This stinks!" he went to throw it away.

"Stop!" the other person said. "That is the card that will change your life."

"Gimme a break."

"I'll give you something far better. Another change to beat Jaden."

"How do you know about him? Tell me."

"You talk in your sleep. And from what I heard, it sounds like this Jaden beat you badly in a duel."

"Pff, he's just lucky, that's all."

"Lucky? Do you often run away from just luck?"

"He's got you there, Chazz," Jaden's voice said in Chazz's mind. "You may be wearing blue, but you turn yellow fast."

"That's it! No one calls Chazz Princeton a coward!"

"Talk is cheap young duelist."

"That may be, but I'm rich. And I'll spend whatever it takes to be the best there is."

"That's just your problem. No amount of money can buy you that. You must earn it… if you can. That is precisely what we're going to find out. Good luck, young duelist." Water then began to drop from the ceiling, flooding the whole room. "Remember to hold your nerves," he said as he began to walk away.

Soon enough, Chazz was ejected from a sub, propelled through the water, and thrown onto an ice bank. "Crazy kook!" he said to himself. "My attorney will be in touch with him." He then took not of his new surroundings. He was one a plain of ice. The terrain around was rough, with mountains in the background and uneven ends all around. A large building was in the distance, just at the edge of a icy path. "Well, at least I'm back in civilization… well, kind of. This place is low rent. No problem, one call and I'm outta here." He started to walk towards the building at a moderate pace. "Only question is, do I have them send the plane, or the chopper?" Finally after walking all the way, Chazz arrived at the building he'd seen from afar. "Not a bad place. Course, my pad is bigger." He went to the tall wooden double doors and knocked on them. "Open up! Let's go! Is there anybody there? Hello!"

"They're home," someone spoke from close by. Chazz looked to his left and saw a balding man sitting on the ground in front of a small fire. He wore glasses, a worn brown coat and black pants, and a pair of sturdy boots. "But you'll need 40 cards for them to let you in. I'm afraid that's just the way it works at North Academy."

"North Academy? So this is the school that's Duel Academy's arch-rival then."

"That's right. Here, take a seat with me, friend. I could use some company." Chazz walked over and sat down next to him. "After all, I've been here a long time. How it works is there's cards hidden all over. In glacial crevices, on ice cliffs… It's kind of a test. Find 40, and they'll let you in."

Chazz noticed the cards in the man's duel disk. "So how many do you have?"

"I've actually managed to find 39 cards, but it took every last bit of energy I had to do so. I'm too worn out to look for the last one."

"Great, then you don't need the other 39. Here, I'll buy them off you." Chazz pulled a bill out of his blazer pocket and held it out. "Here, take it."

"NO! Besides this fire and tattered clothes, these are all I have. They're priceless."

"Fine, I'll find my own." He stood up and started to walk away.

"Good luck then, young duelist. In this barren wasteland, you'll need it."

* * *

The following times that passed were some of the hardest Chazz had ever been through. Throughout most of his life, he'd always been able to have whatever he wanted given to him, or simply buy it himself. The 40 cards he sought were not merely handed over to him. He climbed icy walls, trekked across windy plains, swam in cold water, and was submitted to other such tests. "I can't believe I have to fetch 40 cards just to get North Academy to open their stinkin doors for me. Talk about a school that's hard to get into," he muttered as he climbed up a rough surface.

He went on like this for quite a while, grumbling along the way. But finally, he returned back to the entrance with the cards in his possession. "I see you've been busy doing nothing," he commented upon seeing the balding man still sitting at his fire."

He stood up upon seeing Chazz. "You're back! Did you find them? Did you find 40 cards?"

"Of course," he held up his disk to show him.

"Well, congratulations then. Guess you'll be moving onto better things. But don't worry about me, I'll be fine here. Well, until the winter comes around anyway."

"The winter?"

"Oh yes, these are summer months right now. Quite pleasant actually. And the fall's nice too. Only about 30 below. After that it tends to get a little nippy. But listen to me, I'm sure you want to get on your way."

"Ahh, quit your whining already, would you baldy? I lied. I didn't just find 40 cards, I found 41. And extra one so you could come in too."

"You mean, I get to enter? Really?"

"Yeah, yeah. Get over it. Now take your stinking card. Don't make a big deal about it, okay?" he said as he took out Ojama Yellow. But when he tried to give it away, his arm refused to cooperate.

"You gonna give it to me or not?"

"My hand, I can't let go."

A transparent version of the monster emerged from the card and floated in front of Chazz. "You can't give me away," it said. "We're pals, chums, best friends forever. You know, BFF."

"Huh? We are not!" he shot back.

"What's going on?" the man asked.

"Don't you see it?"

"See what?"

"Aww boss, you're the only one that can see me."

"Go away!"

"Look, if we're gonna be partners, you need to stop being so uptight."

"You're not real, get lost."

"Get lost? Funny you should say that. I have two brothers who're lost. We really otta find them for our deck."

"Quiet. On second thought, that was the wrong card." Chazz put Ojama Yellow back in with the others and pulled out a random card. "Here, take this."

The man accepted it thankfully. "Sure, whatever you say. I really appreciate this, mr…"

"The name's Chazz Princeton. And don't you forget it. Actually, do forget it. I'd rather not have people associate me with you." He walked to the fire and sat down with his back against a rock. "Now go ahead and go inside. The Chazz likes to make his own entrance."

"Oh yes, certainly. Well, thanks again."

"Thanks for nothing," Chazz mumbled as the balding guy went it. "I really only found 40 cards. Now I'm one short."

Again, a vision of Jaden appeared beside him. "I always knew you were a nice guy."

"Shut it!" he said angrily and punched at the vision. He then looked down and saw the spell card Chaos End lying on the ground in before him.

"And when you do something nice, nice things happen."

* * *

After having sat at the fire for along enough, Chazz decided to get up and stand in front of the doors to the school. "Alright, open the door, I got your 40 cards right here." A few strands of light were then shot down from the doorframe's ceiling. They hit Chazz's duel disk, which then turned on, now being recharged. That was followed by the twin doors opening inwards, allowing for Chazz to step into a place that looked like an old town in the far west. The doors then closed behind him

"This is it? North Academy? What a dump," he commented as he wandered around. He then happened to notice someone get thrown out of one of the shacks off to the side. He ran up to them and saw the man who'd gone in before him. "Hey, baldy, you ok?"

"What happened?"

"He got the North Academy welcoming is what happened." Chazz looked up and saw a bunch of boys standing close by. They all wore darker colored coats with a 'N' sewn on, and they had duel disks on their arms. "And now it's your turn," one of them spoke up. It was a muscular guy wearing a short coat and sitting in a rocking chair. He spoke with a Russian accent. "And now it's your turn. Think you're up to the challenge, new guy? Do ya?"

"Who're you?"

"I'm the guy who runs things around here. They call me Czar. You friend just went through our little hazing ritual. The fifty man duel gauntlet."

"Fifty man what's it?"

"Duel gauntlet. It's how we rank students round here. Why don't you go ahead and explain it to him how it works Kyle?"

A smaller kid with black hair and a dark blue jacket spoke up. "See, you gotta duel fifty students."

"Yeah, you start with the lowest ranked and you work your way up." The one who'd just spoken had flat brown hair, a thin moustache and lighter blue jacket.

"When you lose, that's your rank." This one had long brown hair, glasses and a white blazer.

The other one wore a brown coat, had spiky greenish hair and a serious expression on his face. "Unless you don't lose…"

"Then you duel me, number 50," Czar finished.

"But everybody loses," some other kid said. "Like your friend here. He lost the very first duel he had. Guess who's on latrine duty now."

"Huh! So all I have to do is win fifty times? That's it?"

"Easier said than done, rookie!"

"That name is Chazz, Chazz Princeton. And soon, your Czar will fall. And then, the Princeton will rise."

* * *

For the first duel, Chazz found himself facing against a kid with an Elvis like hairdo. They started their disks, and drew their starting hands.

Chazz: 4000

Elvis Kid: 4000

"My move," Chazz announced. "I summon Flying Kamariki #1 in defense mode." A human sized green bug with orange eyes, four arms and wings crouched down in front of him. (1100) "And that ends my turn."

"What a joke!" his opponent said. "I Play Polymerization. So I'll fuse Witch of the Black Forest with Lady of Faith to summon, Musician King." The monster that appeared was a yellow spiky haired man, wearing black pants, his torso bare and a red guitar strapped around him. (1750) "Now attack that bug." The musical monster strummed his guitar, creating sound waves that blew apart the insect monster.

"I play my Kamariki's effect. When it's destroyed in battle, I get to summon a wind attribute monster from my deck with up to 1500 attack points. And I'll choose another flying Kamariki #1." A second copy of the first monster appeared on Chazz's field. (1400)

"I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Good. Now I'll remove from play the Flying Kamakiri #1 in my graveyard so that I can summon Garuda, the Wind Spirit." A human figure appeared beside the insect, safe that it has an eagle's head and wings." (1600) "Then I summon Yomi Ship." The next monster was a simple and small wooden boat with a cabin in the middle. "Now, Yomi Ship, attack his Musician King."

"What! You're crazy!" the Elvis kid said. "You're monster won't stand a chance. Especially since I'm activating Metalmorph, and using it on my Musician King." The named monster's apparel changed so that he wore black rocker's clothes, along with spiked bracelets and other gothic things. (1750-2050) He gave a long strum on his guitar, sending sound waves that tore apart the wooden ship.

Chazz: 4000-2750

"Sorry, but Yomi Ship has a handy special ability. When it's destroyed in battle, the monster that destroyed it bites the dust as well." A plank from the ship sailed through the air and slammed into the rocker, thus destroying him.

"No way!"

"Now my other monsters can take you out." Both wind monsters flew at Chazz's opponent and punched him hard enough to knock him down.

Elvis Kid: 4000-0

"Who's next?"

"I'm next." The one who'd answered was a boy with black hair, also dressed all in black in a very gothic manner.

"Fine with me. You're going down."

Goth Guy: 4000

Chazz: 4000

"I summon Vorse Raider, in attack mode." A beastial humanoid fiend with a cruel look on its face and a wicked curved blade in its hands appeared on the field. (1900) "That ends my turn."

"I summon Ameba, in attack mode." A blue blob with a few black spots materialized in front of Chazz. (300) "Then I'll activate Creature Swap, so we both get the other's monster." The two monsters disappeared and reappeared on the other's field. "And when you gain control of Ameba, you lose 2000 life-points." The little blob somehow spat water at the gothic boy.

Goth Guy: 4000-2000

"Then I'll equip Vorse Raider with Sword of Dark Destruction, giving him another 400 attack points, even if he loses 200 defense." Vorse Raider's weapon changed into a sword with a blood red blade, and a black, evil looking handle. (1900-2300/1200-1000) "Now attack." The fiend rushed towards his former master's field and sliced the blob apart with his weapon.

Goth Guy: 2000-0

"Two down. Come on, let's get going."

* * *

Chazz continued dueling like he'd just been doing. Playing random cards in a manner that defeated all his opponents within the space of two turns at most. He sped through until the four students standing next to Czar stepped out. "So what?"

"Beating those amateurs doesn't prove a thing."

"You still have to get through the four of us."

"Only then can you duel the Czar."

"Duel each one of you? That'll take too long. How about I take you all on at once?"

"You're on!"

"Mike, Jack, Derick, let's go."

"Duel!"

Mike: 4000

Kyle: 4000

Jack: 4000

Derrick: 4000

"My turn. Come one out, Marauding Captain. The blond, armored warrior stood in front of Mike with a sword drawn. (1200) "And I'm not done yet. When this monster is summoned to the field, I get to bring out another level four or lower monster to the field. And I'll play another Marauding Captain." A monster identical to the first appeared. (1200)

"And so will I." Two of the same monsters took their place. (1200) x2

"Me too." Another pair of them arrived. (1200) x2

"Same with me." Eight identical monsters were now arrayed against Chazz. (1200) Ojama Yellow cried out at the sight. "And in case you'd forgotten, rookie, when there are two or more captains on the field, you can't attack any of them."

"He didn't forget that, he probably never even knew in the first place."

"Good point. And now he'll suffer for it."

"Please, the only way you scrubs could make me suffer is to keep blabbing like that. My turn. I'll place two cards face-down and Giant Rat in Defense mode." A big blue rat with sharp teeth and a skull in its hands crouched down on in front of a pair of face-downs. (1450)

"All you're playing is an overgrown rodent? What a joke!"

"Perhaps, after all, he is a weaker card. One that the old Chazz would've never put in his deck. But I learned something since I got here. Life deals you all kinds of cards. Sometimes you have to make the best out of what you've got."

"Aww, that's so nice of you boss," Ojama Yellow said. "You're talking about me, right?"

"Actually, I wasn't," Chazz said to the spirit. "You're still as annoying, revolting and non-existing as ever!" His opponents stared blankly at Chazz, thinking insane for talking to thin air. "You're a disgusting little yellow gremlin and I don't like you! So quit bugging me!"

"Disgusting, maybe. But little and yellow? Get our eyes checked. Now back to the duel. I play Allied Forces. It gives all warrior type monsters 200 extra attack points for each warrior and spellcaster out on the field. Which means all our Marauding Captains' attack points now become 2800." (1200-2800) x8 "Now go, smash that rat." One of the blond warriors jumped in the air and swung his sword at the giant blue rat.

"He's defenseless, charge in men." The other captains ran towards Chazz.

"Sorry, but I play my rat's ability. Since he was just destroyed in battle, I get to summon an earth attribute monster from my deck with 1500 or less attack points. So come on out, Gyaku Gire Panda." A large panda with sharp teeth and holding a bamboo stick in one of its paws rose on Chazz's field. (800)

"Look at the big teddy bear. How cuddly."

"You may not think so after this. See, panda gains 500 attack points for every single monster on your side of the field. Not so cuddly now, is he." The panda bear growled as it increased in size, dwarfing the warriors. (800-4800) "And next I'm gonna activate a trap, Ring of Destruction." A metal collar with red bombs attached around the panda's neck. "This destroys one monster in attack mode, and then all players lose life-points equal to its attack points."

"But why? We'll all end up with zero life-points."

"I won't. Because I have, Ring of Defense." A wheel with four green metal plates attached to the exterior appeared between Chazz and his monster. It then began to spin fast enough to seem like a full circle. "This spell card protects me from the damage I'd take because of my trap. You… go… bye… bye." A large explosion ensued, blowing away all the monsters and knocking down the North Academy students. Chazz remained standing due to his spell.

Mike: 4000-0

Kyle: 4000-0

Jack: 4000-0

Derrick: 4000-0

"Alright, granny," Chazz spoke to Czar. "Outta the rocker. You're up."

Czar stood up from his seat and stood opposite Chazz. "Yes, and you're going down," he said as he inserted his deck into his disk and started it up. "Cause now it's the Czar against the Princeton. And there ain't no way I'm going to get shot off my throne by you. Get ready for a battle royale."

"Bring it on!"

"Duel!"

Czar: 4000

Chazz: 4000

"Me first," the north academy student announced. "And I'm going to activate two copies of Fiend's Sanctuary. Now I get two metal fiend tokens." A pair of gray figures made of built up metal balls appeared on the field. (0) x2 "But like you, they won't be staying long. I sacrifice them to summon Zoa." The two featureless tokens disappeared and made way for a larger blue monster that had muscles lining its body, along with horns sticking from its head and an angry expression on its face. (2600) "Next, I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn. Ha! Already my side of the field's stacked. See how it's different with the Czar?"

"But it'll end the same. My turn. Chazz drew, picking up Ojama Yellow. "You again?"

"Nice to see you too boss," the spirit said as it came out of its card. "Need me to fight a monster for you? Let's do it." It got look at Zoa and changed its mind. "Ohhhh, never mind."

"You know, I think I finally found a way to get rid of you. I play Ojama Yellow." The spirit monster appeared on Chazz's field. (1000)

"No please, anyone but me!"

"Then I'll toss two cards face-down and end my turn."

Czar laughed at the layout on Chazz's field. "Time out. Some garbage seems to have blown onto the field. Oh wait, I'm sorry, that's just your monster. Oh well, he's going to be trashed anyway. I play the trap card Metalmorph. And I'll equip it to Zoa." The muscular fiend was covered by a thin film of metallic gray. "And now I'm going to sacrifice Zoa, to summon something even better. The ferocious Metalzoa." Zoa sunk under the ground and another monster emerged in its place. It was even bigger, made entirely of metal, stood on two legs, had large claws, and generally looked like some kind of destructive robot. (3000) Ojama Yellow cringed at the sight of it. "And next I'll play another trap card, Call of the Haunted. Now I can summon back regular Zoa." The smaller blue fiend appeared again. (2600)

"Boy oh boy," Chazz imagined Jaden saying beside him. "Two monster with 2600 and 3000 attack points? What on earth are you gonna do, Chazz?"

"That's easy, I'm gonna win."

"You know, talking to yourself is pretty crazy as it is," Czar noted. "But thinking you're going to win? Even crazier! Know why? Cause I just watched you duel 49 times. I know your deck. I know you don't have one monster as strong as mine."

'Maybe, but I know how to make the best out of what I've got.'

"Alright, Zoa, attack. Glimmer Strike." The blue monster fired off a green colored 'X' from its forehead at the smaller creature, who cried in fear until it was destroyed. "And now that he's been taken care of, Metalzoa's going to take care of you. Hardened Glimmer Strike." The metal monster crossed its arms and swung the outward, creating a larger green 'X' which passed through the former Obelisk.

Chazz: 4000-1000

"The Princeton's place is at the heel of the Czar, and that's exactly where I'm going to put you."

"Don't bet on it. See, I was waiting for you to attack me. Because now I can play, Inferno Tempest. With this card, when I take 3000 or more points of damage, all monsters in both our decks and graveyards, are taken out of play."

"Why would you do that? What are you planning?"

"If you know my deck as well as you say you do, then I'm sure know. And you know that your reign is coming to an end."

"What are you talking about? I have two monsters out, you have none. And now you don't have any in your deck. You've lost. My reign's not over, it's never been stronger. You're about to lose."

"Oh, am I? We'll see. Alright, now Czar, you my friend, are about to get royally crowned, and not in a good way. I play, the spell Chaos End." Cracks began to appear all over Zoa and Metalzoa.

"What's going on?"

"Well that's the magic of Chaos End. When seven or more cards are removed from play it destroys all your monsters."

"No way!"

The Czar's two monsters exploded in a shower of pixels. "And now, I'll play a trap, that's a blast from the past. Return From the Different Dimension." A hole opened in the air above the field. "By paying half my life-points, I'm allowed to bring back as many of my monsters removed from play as possible. Now, come on back everyone." The first monster to drop down was a man wearing a plain gray and blue suit with disks making up his armor and two of them in his hands. Another was a machine with spidery legs, a circular body and lobster like claws. The third was two creatures, one blue, the other purple, with both having white faces, horns coming out of their heads, dragon like tails and wings. The fourth was an undead warrior wearing a full set of armor, a red cape and holding a curved blade. The last was the persistent duel spirit. (1000) x4 (0)

"Thanks boss."

"I meant everyone except you!" The duel spirit began to cry at this.

"No way! Stop!"

"Stop? I don't think so. Now give the Czar a king sized clobbering." The four thousand attack points monsters simultaneously rushed the North Academy student. They hit him all at once and sent him crashing onto the ground a dozen feet back.

Czar: 4000-0

"You go bye bye."

"Well done. You've earned the right to be called the best."

Chazz saw the person from the submarine, except that they were wearing an orange hood on their head which allowed for their red coat to be seen. "It's you. You're the one who rescued me. But how did you get into the school?"

"Why, you let me in of course." He took off the hood, mask and a hat underneath, showing the face of the man who'd been waiting outside next to the fire.

"Wait! Now you're the bald guy?"

"I'm this school's chancellor," he said. "The name's Foster. And the camp outside, that sub out at sea. It was all jus to get to you, young duelist."

"To me, what for?"

"Because you have a gift, Chazz. And I sensed it the moment you took that Ojama Yellow card."

"I hate the stinking card!"

"You might now, but you'll learn. Hopefully in time for the school duel. You see Chazz, you're now the best duelist at North Academy. That means you'll be our representative in the school duel."

"So I'm going up against someone from Duel Academy?"

"That's right. You'll be our headliner in the school duel."

"What, there's more than just me?"

"Yes. Apparently Duel Academy couldn't decide between two of its students, so they decided to have two duels instead of one. Czar will be our second representative. He may have been our best duelist best duelist before, but he's second to you now. You're our best. You're the one the school bows to." The students all around them dropped to one knee.

"Then who's gonna take on Czar?"

"I believe you know of him. His name's Jeremy."

"Jeremy Wheeler?"

"That's right."

"He shouldn't cause much problems. I can tell you half his deck by heart."

"That's good."

"So who's the unlucky punk I'll be dueling against?"

"Who? The one I promised you. The one called Jaden Yuki."

"Jaden? You gotta be kidding me."

"No. This is your chance for revenge."

"Revenge… I can't wait. I'm gonna beat Jaden so badly, he's never gonna want to duel again." Chazz grinned widely and laughed at the idea.

* * *

Hope you liked it and please review. This chapter was actually longer than I thought I could have made it.

**Next chapter: **It's finally time for the school duel! Jeremy takes on the Czar, but the North Academy student has a deadly trick up his sleeve. Will Jeremy pull a winner out of his hat?**  
**


	30. The School Duel Part 1

XG hoiguY nwo ton od I :remialcsiD

Turn that all around and you get:

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX

Okay, here it is, the school duel! Enjoy!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**The School Duel – Part 1**

It was a dark and cloudy night that lay heavily around North Academy. Lightning flashed at moments and thunder crashed afterwards. Even inside the building the lights were dimmed down to the point that it gave off a more sinister touch to the place. On the platform centered against the far wall, three figures were standing in front of all the students. The first was the chancellor, the second was Czar and the third was Chazz himself. But instead of his Obelisk Blue uniform, he now wore a black blazer. "Student of north Academy," Foster spoke loudly. "I present to you our school's new top duelist."

The students assembled cheered for him. "He and Czar will be our two champions for the school duel. And now, I present to them, North Academy's top dueling cards." He gave Chazz and Czar two separate sets of cards. "With them, you will triumph." He then turned his attention to Chazz specifically. "With them, you will Chazz it up."

"Chazz it up!" the students cheered. "Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!"

Chazz and Czar looked at the cards they'd just been given and grinned. "This is going to be good!" Czar said.

"Duel Academy is toast!" Chazz proclaimed loudly.

* * *

Now the day of the school duel, Jaden and Jeremy were currently in the main dueling arena by themselves. "Hey Jeremy, how bout we summon up our monsters?"

"You got it Jaden."

"Come on out, Elemental Hero Avian." The winged green hero appeared next to the brunette Slifer. "Now, Burstinatrix." The female hero did a back flip and landed next to her ally. "And while I'm at it, Clayman, Sparkman, come on out." The stone and electric heroes stood tall amongst their friends.

"My turn then. Zanji, you're up." The red gold armored warrior spun his sword pointed spear in front of him and slammed the butt end on the ground. "Then it's Irou." The darkest of the six samurai rose next to Zanji. "Now comes Yaichi and Nisashi." First the bow wielding samurai stood in a steady manner, holding his weapon at the ready. Then the green armored warrior pulled out his twin swords, and held his arms crossed.

"This is so cool!" Jaden exclaimed. "We've got the sweetest monsters ever!"

"You got that right, Jay," Jeremy agreed. "With these guys fighting on our side, we're gonna whoop whoever North Academy sends our way."

"Oh yeah! I can hardly wait!"

"Hey, guys!" Syrus called out to them. "There you are. What're you doing? Everyone's waiting for the both of you."

"For us?" Jaden asked, as confused as Jeremy. "What for?"

"For the meet n greet. North Academy just showed up. Your opponents are here."

"Then what're we waiting around here for?" Jeremy spoke up. He and Jaden then took their cards off their disks and the holograms disappeared. "Come on, let's get going."

"Well yeah, I mean that's…" Syrus said as his friends ran by him. "Ohh, wait up!"

* * *

Outside at the docks, North Academy's submarine was stationed and the bridge pulled down so that they could walk across to the mainland. North Academy's students were all standing, lined up on the sub's deck, while the people from Duel Academy were waiting on the docks to receive them. Foster walked across to Sheppard who was waiting for him. "Foster, it's been far too long. How've you been?"

"I've been well, thank you. I managed to get over the defeat you handed us at last year's school duel."

"Oh don't fret about that. It was a close match."

"Not really. But I have a feeling that this year is going to be different story."

"Yes, I'm sure it'll be a good match up. To a spirited competition between our two schools." The two chancellors shook hands in a friendly handshake.

"Yeah, yeah, spirited," Jaden said as he and Jeremy emerged into the scene. "But enough with all the how you doins, I wanna meet who I'm gonna be dueling."

"Me too," Jeremy said. "I wanna see who I'm up against."

The two men let go of the handshake. "Yes, boys. We were getting to that."

"Great. Then I'll just wait right here till we get to it."

"You two must be Jaden and Jeremy," Foster said.

"That's right!" Jeremy said while smiling broadly.

"So, you're Duel Academy's phenoms."

"Phenom! That's the coolest thing I've ever been called!" Jaden said excitedly. "What's it mean?"

Foster fell over in shock. "I think it means that we're really good," Jeremy ventured an explanation.

"It means be quiet," Sheppard scolded.

"Alright, so come on then. When do I meet my opponent?"

"Right now, slacker." Jaden and Jeremy turned around in the direction that the strangely familiar voice had come from.

"Who just said that?" the brunette Slifer asked.

The students on the sub separated and revealed the person standing behind them. Both Slifer boys were surprised to see Chazz. "Whoa! That's a surprise!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Hold on a sec! Am I seeing things, or is that really Chazz?"

"You got that right!"

"Well, why are you here?"

"Wadda you think? For the duel."

"I think it sold out."

"I'm in it!"

Jaden was visibly confused by this. "What? As a ref?"

"I'm dueling you!" Chazz answered, annoyed by Jaden's thick headedness.

"You mean, it's you? You're one of North Academy's reps?"

"Uhh, since when did you transfer?" Jeremy inquired.

"Since I stopped getting the respect I deserved here, Wheeler."

"That's right!" two of the other students said.

"Yeah, now it's time for payback," Czar filled in. "You won't give him respect, so now he'll take it. He'll beat your little heroes bad. Just like I'll do to your samurais."

"Oh, so you're my opponent then," Jeremy realized.

"That's right. And you're both going down."

Everyone around was surprised when they heard the sound of helicopter blade whirring, and the wind that kicked up in the area as a result. They looked up and saw two choppers hovering in the air above them. The door of one opened up and revealed two men in suits and ties. They both had the same hair color as Chazz, though one's was longer and he had a shot beard, and both had identical grins on their faces. "Hi Chazz."

"What's going on little brother? Mind if we drop in?"

"Slade? Jagger? Why are you here?" Chazz demanded, a serious expression on his face.

"Why else? To celebrate your big dueling victory," Jagger explained as their helicopter landed on the top of one of the warehouse buildings.

"You are going to win, right Chazz?"

The area was then flooded by a hoard of cameras, wires, microphones and other such broadcasting equipment, as well as the people who came with it. "That's it, just act natural," one of them said from his post in a crane, while the guy next to him held the camera pointed at the older Princeton brothers.

Another pair of TV crewmembers pointed their equipment towards the two chancellors. "Uhhh, what's going on here?" Foster asked.

"What's going on?" the microphone guy spoke up. "I think you mean when're you going on. And the answer it primetime baby. This school duel's gonna be broadcasted worldwide."

"No way!" Jaden exclaimed. "Me on TV? My face beamed across the world? In full color and full stereo?" Jaden's face was in fact on multiple screens in the equipment vans and across the world.

"Wow!" Jeremy exclaimed. "This is so cool!" He smiled at the cameras and did a peace sign with his fingers. "Hey, mom, dad, I just hope you guys are watching this right now."

"Actually, your mom's got a tournament she's busy with, so she'll probably be recording it." Jeremy turned around and saw his father standing behind him.

"Dad? You're here?"

"Yep! I didn't have anything holding me back, so I could come over and watch all the action up front."

"Alright!" Jeremy and Joey grasped hands and gave the other a pat on the back. Then Joey held his son in a headlock while he ruffled his hair and gave him a noogie. "Ah come on! Dad, you'd better let go right now!" Joey released his hold and Jeremy playfully punched his father in the stomach, though not hard.

"I just hope that my folks are watching this too," Jaden said. He then felt someone tapping him on the shoulder from behind. He turned around and saw a slim woman who had long brown hair trailing down to her shoulders and eyes of the same color. She wore a light blue business like suit and a pair of black high heels. "Mom?" he asked in surprise.

"Hello Jaden," she spoke in a soft voice as she gave her son a hug. "It's good to see you. How've you been doing?"

"I'm fine. How's dad?"

"Unfortunately, he had to work, so he couldn't come watch your big duel. But my boss let me take time off to come over here."

"That's cool."

"Hey Jaden, how about introductions?" Jeremy suggested.

"Oh, right. Mom, this is my friend Jeremy Wheeler and his dad Joey. Jeremy, this is my mom, Eileen."

"Dad, you've already met Jaden."

"That's right. Pleasure meeting you, Miss Yuki."

"Same here, Mr. Wheeler."

"Well, how about we get to the arena for the duels?" Sheppard suggested.

* * *

Before the duels would actually start, Slade and Jagger had taken Chazz aside into one of the locker rooms to have a little chat with him. "You set up this broadcast, didn't you?"

"Well of course we did," Slade said. "We need the whole world to see you're on your way to becoming duel monsters' best. It's all part of the plan."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Look," Jagger jumped in. "World domination is ours for the taking, if we all do our part, Chazz."

"And we have. Now it's your turn, bro. To conquer the world of duel monsters. To be the best, and to not give up."

"Did you really think you could get away from your duties? Get away from us, by dropping out of duel Academy?"

Chazz lowered his head. "I… I…"

"Don't deny it! You've always been the slacker in this family!"

"It doesn't matter. The point is you can still turn things around. You can still show that we're supreme."

"That's right." Jagger held up a briefcase in his hand. "And the dueling cards in this briefcase are gonna help you do just that. They're the most expensive out there, so you have no excuses for losing." He slammed the briefcase down on the bench in front of Chazz. "Don't let us down, Chazz. Don't let the Princeton name down."

"It's all on you! Now go, and win!"

* * *

"Man, it I'd known I was gonna be on TV, I would've combed my hair," Jaden said as he ran through the hallway by himself. "I might have even washed it. Or even showered." He stopped in his tracks when he passed by a bathroom and heard Chazz talking to himself. He stood next to the doorway as Chazz leaned over a sink, not seeing Jaden's reflection in the mirror

"Man up, Chazz! Man up!" he said, beating his fist against the wall. "Come on! Show them that Chazz Princeton is no slacker! That you're worthy of the Princeton name." He was on the verge of tears as he went on. "That you… you can win, and that you can keep winning." He sunk to his knees as this point. "Over and over. That you're the best! You've got to do your part Chazz." A few tears fell from his eyes onto the floor. "You've got to do your part Chazz. You've got to show them that you're supreme. It's your duty, it's the plan."

"Whoa," Jaden muttered to himself. He then chose that moment to leave Chazz alone, given his current emotional state.

"Now go out there and win. Go and win!"

* * *

All the spectators had now gathered in their seats at the arena where the duels would be happening. The students from North Academy were seated in one general area, while those from North Academy were seated apart. The two chancellors were sitting together with the North Academy group. A group of crane arms, each with a cameraman and another crewman, were positioned around the platform in the middle, so that they would be able to cover every angle there was. "That's it everyone, lot's of energy," of the men with a megaphone in his hand said. "Remember, the whole world's watching you live! Now let's cheer these duelists on!"

"Go, Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!" The Duel Academy students cheered for their own representatives while the North Academy boys cheered for theirs.

"Same bet as usual, right Sheppard?" Foster said. "You do remember…"

"Absolutely. After all, old friend, it's what makes this all worthwhile. If both Jeremy and Jaden win, then I get the prize."

"And if it's Czar and Chazz, then I win." The two men laughed good naturedly.

Down at the floor level, Syrus and Chumley were with Jaden and Jeremy before the formal introduction. "Alright Jaden," the small Slifer spoke up. "Here we go. You match against your dueling rival's coming soon. Your arch nemesis. How do you feel?"

"I'm okay," he answered in a not so convincing voice.

"Okay!"

"Don't you mean sweet or something?" Chumley asked.

"Yeah Jaden. What's going on?"

"I feel good, it's just that… well, I overheard Chazz earlier and… it's just too bad that one of us has to lose, you know? I'm starting to understand where he's coming from. And it's not exactly an easy place. I mean, from what I heard, it sounds like his brothers are putting all sorts of pressure on him to win. That they think he's not any good if he does anything except winning."

"Whoa, that's harsh," Jeremy commented.

"Attention students," Sheppard spoke up. "Welcome to the school duel!"

"And now…" Foster started.

"Let this year's competition finally begin!" The four duelists then stepped up onto the stage while their fellow students went to their seats to watch.

"Dr. Crowler, introduce the duelists."

"With pleasure Chancellor Sheppard. After all, among our four contestants, three of them I know personally. And personally, I just adore them. "And now, for the first duel, from Duel Academy…" The Obelisks, Ras and Slifers cheered loudly. "Alright, keep it down, keep it down. Introducing, Jeremy Wheeler."

"You go Jeremy," Syrus cheered for his friend. He, along with Chumley, Bastion, Erik, Zane, Christine, Alexis, Joey and Eileen were sitting together on the Duel Academy side of the crowd.

"You can do it, kiddo," Joey said.

"And, from North Academy, the Czar." The North Academy students cheered his name. "And then, the second match will be, from Duel Academy, Jaden Yuki."

"Let's go Jaden," Chumley encouraged.

"We believe in you Jaden," his mother added.

"And his opponent…"

"Get off the stage." Crowler was surprised by Chazz's interruption. "I'll introduce myself, you scrub."

"I BEG YOUR PARDON!" Crowler shouted into the microphone. "Scrubs don't have PhDs in dueling!" the Obelisk headmaster looked down and saw that in his agitated response, he'd gotten the microphone cord wrapped around his legs. "Although not tying might have been a better major." He hopped about, and finished by falling off the stage.

"Is he always like that?" Eileen inquired.

"As strange as it may seem, for Crowler, this isn't too uncommon," Erik said.

"Whoa, maybe you otta go cordless next time," Jaden said.

"Maybe you otta be quiet!" Chazz snapped. "It's Chazz Princeton's turn now. But then, I don't really need an introduction. After all, everybody here knows who I am. Or do you? See Chazz Princeton has changed. Sure, I used to be in a class made of yours, but when I left here, I left my old self behind. Now you're looking at the new Chazz. The North Academy Chazz. And I'm here to…" Chazz pumped his fist into the air.

"Chazz it up!" the North Academy kids cheered.

"That's right! Say it again!"

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!"

"Wow," Syrus said. "It's almost like they really… like Chazz."

"So what's the scoop with this kid?" Joey asked.

"Well, Chazz used to be a student here at Duel Academy," Alexis began. "He was an Obelisk Blue."

"But then Dr. Crowler set up a duel between him and me," Bastion continued. "And imposed the condition that should he lose, we'd both switch dorms."

"And when Chazz lost, he couldn't take it, so he left the Academy on his family's boat," Christine filled in. "And somehow he arrived at North Academy."

"Alright then, you know what to do," Chazz said to Czar as he walked off the stage.

"Good luck Jeremy. We'll all be rooting for you."

"Thanks Jaden." The blond Slifer's friend walked off to join the spectators. "Now it's just you and me."

"Yes, and you'd better be ready, because you're about to receive a North Academy beating."

"Bring it on!"

"Let's duel!"

Jeremy: 4000

Czar: 4000

"I'll start things off… by playing a monster face-down." The image of the back of a card appeared in front of Jeremy. "And that'll be all."

A bunch of the spectators were surprised at Jeremy's move. "I may not be much of a duelist…" Eileen spoke up. "But Jeremy doesn't appear to have set up much of a defense."

"That may be," Jaden said. "But in our duel, he started with the same kind of move and it still turned out well."

"Jeremy might be waiting for Czar to make his move before he pulls out something bigger," Christine guessed.

"Ha!" Czar laughed at the situation on Jeremy's field. "You don't have any good monsters at the ready? That's too bad. Now watch. I summon Silent Magician LV 4, in attack mode." A young, short girl appeared in front of Czar. She had red eyes, short silvery hair, wore a white pointed wizarding hat with a blue gem at the front and held a short staff in her hands with a half crescent tip also containing a blue gem. Apart from that, she wore blue clothes, covered by an elegant white tunic. (1000)

"Umm, level? What kind of monster is that?" Syrus asked,

"One that could turn out to be a real problem," Zane said.

"Too true," Bastion agreed. "Although that monster may be weak now, if Czar plays this right, it will become increasingly more powerful."

"Why, isn't that one of your school's top cards?" Sheppard asked Foster, surprised at this turn of events. "Foster, you didn't?"

"I did what I had to do. That Silent Magician is only one of our school's best cards. I told you Sheppard, I want that prize. And I'm going to get it."

"Oh yeah? Well not if I have anything to say about it, my old friend. Come on Jeremy! You can do it!"

"Yeah, you can get creamed," Czar said. "Now, Silent Magician, attack his face-down monster." The short magician rushed towards Jeremy's field, twirling her staff. Jeremy's monster was revealed to be Shien's Footsoldier. The duel spirit nodded to his partner, before he was struck by the magician's staff.

"You just activated the special ability of my Shien's Footsoldier. You see, whenever he's destroyed in battle, he doesn't just leave me alone. Cause I can take a six samurai from my deck that's up to level three, and summon it to the field. And the one I'm picking is, The Six Samurai Yaichi." The yellow armored samurai archer rose on Jeremy's field. (1300)

"Alright, now that's more like it!" Jaden said.

"Now Jeremy can have at least two of his samurais on the field when his turn comes around," Syrus added.

"And he'll be able to use their effects to give him an advantage," Alexis pitched in.

"That little monster won't be much good to you. I place two cards face-down and end my turn."

"My turn then."

"And now activates the effect of Silent Magician LV 4. Whenever you draw a card, my magician gains one spell counter and 500 attack points for each." The small spellcaster glowed with a golden aura as she was powered up. (1000-1500)

"That's fine with me. I summon The Six samurai Nisashi." Jeremy's duel sword wielding samurai stood up next to Yaichi. (1400) "And since I have two six samurai monsters on the field, I can activate Yaichi's effect. So by giving up his attack, I get to destroy one of your face-downs." The named warrior nocked an arrow and aimed at the one on the right.

"I'll just activate it first. Go, Pitch Black Power-Stone." A yellow colored round stone with small, round indents on its surface appeared behind the valiant magician." When I play this, it gains three spell counters." Three of the indents on the stone glowed with a bright light.

"This isn't good. Jeremy still can't beat that magician," Chumley pointed out.

"He must have something to power up his monsters," Joey said.

"Your magician may have more attack points than my guys, but I'm about to change things a bit. All thanks to the spell card, Allied Forces. This gives all my warrior type monsters 200 extra attack points for each warrior and spellcaster monster I control. And with what I've got out, that's 400 more points."

"I don't think so," Czar interrupted.

"Umm, wadda you mean?"

"I mean your spell card isn't going to do anything. I activate Dark Bribe, which allows me to negate the effect of one of your spell or trap cards. But there's more, you also get to draw a card. Which in turn means another spell counter and 500 attack points for my magician." The silent magician's aura intensified as Jeremy drew his card. (1500-2000)

"Well this stinks. I'll just throw this little number face-down and end my turn."

"It looks almost like Czar knew exactly what to do in order to dismantle Jeremy's strategy," Syrus pointed out.

"But how's that possible?" Chumley wondered.

"That's probably because Chazz told him what to expect," Zane said. "He's seen Jeremy duel enough to know a fair bit of his deck, and if he passed on that knowledge to Czar…"

"Jeremy can still pull out, he has done it before," Christine remained optimistic.

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see," Erik added his bit.

"My turn then. Now, because of Pitch Black Power-Stone, I can transfer one of its spell counters once per turn to another card. But since I don't feel like waiting that long, I'll play the spell, Exchange of Magic, which allows me to take all the spell counters from one card, and place them onto another. So I'll give my magician all three counters." The three glowing indents on the stone flickered out, at which the stone itself shattered and the magician got ever stronger. (2000-3500)

"Whoa! That magician just gained 1500 attack points," Jaden stated.

"This doesn't look good," his mother pointed out.

"Indeed it doesn't," Bastion confirmed her words. "But unless I'm mistaken, Czar isn't done yet. He must be planning to level up his magician. Since its effect revolves around spell counters, it likely evolves when it has a certain number of them. And with five, I think it's likely to happen soon."

"Now it's time for my magician get even stronger. When it has five spell counters, I can sacrifice it to summon Silent Magician LV 8." The diminutive magician was enveloped by the golden aura that surrounded it. When it died down after a moment, the spellcaster in question had changed. She was much taller, had longer hair, was more matured and carried herself in a regal manner. Her hat, clothes and staff were still the same, but fitted to her size. (3500)

"Wow!" Jeremy exclaimed. "3500 attack points? Now that's a monster. It's way cool."

"What are you talking about? My monster is about to blow away your life-points and you aren't even scared?"

"Why would I? Sure, I may be a little behind, but that doesn't mean this duel isn't still fun. I'm just admiring your monster. It's just too bad that'll have to destroy it."

"Now you're just talking crazy! But hey, that's for you to decide. Anyway, just so you know, because of Silent Magician LV 8's special ability, she's completely off limits to all your spell cards. But that's the least of your worries for now. Attack his The Six Samurai Yaichi." The evolved spellcaster charged up magic in her staff.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've got a trap card in my corner. A trap card called Nutrient Z. And since I'm about to take over 2000 points of battle damage from your magician's attack, this kicks in and gives me extra 4000 point boost."

Jeremy: 4000-8000

"That may be, but my attack is still going through." The female monster released the pent up magical energy from her staff. It zoomed towards the Slifer's field and zapped the yellow armored samurai, destroying him and going onward to hit Jeremy hard enough to throw him back.

Jeremy: 8000-5800

"Not bad," JSlade commented. "That Wheeler kid's getting his butt handed to him."

"Even if Chazz isn't in this duel, just watching the onslaught's almost as fun," Jagger added. "And with the cameras covering this duel as well, we'll be making a nice profit too."

"Is this all you have to offer?" Czar asked mockingly.

"Aww man."

"Not lishus."

"Ouch," Joey winced. "That had to hurt."

"Your boy's going to lose this one, Sheppard," Foster taunted.

"I don't think so. Come on Jeremy, please get up!"

"I'm okay," Crowler said as he got up. "Thank you for your concern though."

Jeremy got back to his feet and shook his, as if to rid himself of the attack's effects. "Now that was something, even if it hurt a little bit more than I'd personally care for. I think that next time I'll be sure to have a cushion or something soft to land on."

"Whatever. It's your turn. Make your move."

"Don't mind if I do. All right then. First, I activate Gateway of the Six." The dark gate with the symbol on its doors appeared behind Jeremy. "When a six samurai monster is summoned, this gets two bushido counters. Now let's give a big hand for… the Hand of the Six Samurai." The feminine monster that had defeated Alexis appeared next to her male ally. (1600) Two seals then began to glow of the gateway.

"Alright, Jeremy's got something good going on now," Christine said. "Now he'll be able to take out that Silent Magician."

"How's Jeremy gonna beat Czar's magician?" Syrus inquired. "She's got 3500 attack points, and Jeremy's newest monster only has 1600."

"Silent Magician LV 8 may be immune to Jeremy's spell cards," Alexis started to explain. "But it's not the same story for monster effects."

"What was the purpose of playing such a weak card?" Czar asked. "Your monster doesn't nearly as much attack points as mine."

"Allow me to shed a little light on the situation and demonstrate her special ability. You see her effect, is that by sacrificing another six samurai monster I control, I get to destroy one of your monsters. So I'll sacrifice Nisashi, and say goodbye to your magician." The green armored samurai faded away as his ally prepared herself. When he was gone, she breathed a thin stream of flames at her enemy, which was soon overcome by the fire.

"Nice move," Zane commented. "With Silent Magician out of the way, Jeremy can finally take out some of Czar's life-points."

"You go Jeremy!" Christine called out.

"Keep it up!" Joey added.

"That's is, show em who's boss," Jaden cheered.

"Thanks guys. Now I'll activate my gateway's first effect. If I get rid of two bushido counters on my field, a six samurai or shien effect monster I control gains 500 attack points for the rest of the turn she'll gain 500 attack points for the rest of the turn." The gateway's two seals faded away and the Hand of the Six Samurai gained power. (1600-2100) "And since you've got no defense, I can take to the offense and attack your life-points head on. It's time for some payback. Hand of the Six Samurai, hit im directly." She drew the dagger at her side and dashed at Czar, striking him with her weapon faster than he could block with his duel disk.

Czar: 4000-1900

"That was well done," Eileen complimented. "Your son is an impressive duelist."

"It's like they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Joey said proudly.

"Uhh, what exactly does that mean?"

"Let me make it a little simpler for you, Jaden," Erik began. "He's basically saying: Like father, like son."

"Ohhhhh, I see now."

"Ha, ha! In your face, Foster! I told you Jeremy was good."

"But is he good enough? After all, even if Czar is only our second best student, with the cards I've given him, and what he knows about Jeremy's deck, he's guaranteed to win."

"I think I'll just call it a turn." Jeremy's monster regained her original points as his turn finished. (2100-1600) "You okay there?"

"I'm not finished with you yet." Czar stood up straight and drew from his deck. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"I'll go then. And I'll bust out this guy, the Six Samurai Zanji." The strongest of the first six samurai rose next to his ally. (1800) "Now attack him directly." Jeremy's two monsters charged towards Czar's field.

"I activate Threatening Roar." A loud roar resounded, stopping the two warriors in their tracks.

"Fine. I end my turn."

"I draw two cards with Pot of Greed. Then I activate Graceful Charity, so I draw three and get rid of two. Next I activate the spell, Level Modulation, which lets you draw two cards, but then it bring back one LV monster from my graveyard And I choose Silent Magician LV 4." The younger magician reappeared on the field. (1000)

"Uhh, I'm lost. Why did Czar bring back that one instead of his level 8 magician?"

"Beats me, Syrus," Jaden admitted.

"Now, the monster I bring back with Level Modulation can't attack or use its effect. But, I can still play this card. It's called Level Up, which means I can sacrifice my level 4 magician to summon another silent Magician LV 8 from my deck." Again, the younger magician disappeared behind a curtain of light and was matured by the time it faded away. (3500)

"Not lishus. Czar's got Silent Magician LV 8 back on the field."

"This is bad," Alexis said.

"With my level 8 magician on the field once again, you may think that things can't get any worse. But I've got some bad news for you, that's just what's about to happen. I play the continuous spell card, Magician/Warrior rivalry." The card that appeared between Czar and his monster showed the image of Dark Magician and Buster Blader facing the other with sword and staff crossed. "This card's effect depends on what cards I have in my grave and on my field. Since I have a level 7 or higher spellcaster on my field, and my graveyard has another one, as well as Warrior Elimination, while this card's out, all warrior monsters on the field are destroyed."

"Say what!"

"No way!" Jaden exclaimed.

"So that's his strategy," Bastion realized. "He needed one of his stronger magicians in the graveyard to be able to play this."

"This is really bad," Zane said. "Jeremy hardly has any non warrior type monsters in his deck."

The powerful spellcaster monster charged a large ball of white magical energy in the tip of her staff, then released it at Jeremy's field, obliterating his monsters in a massive explosion.

"Not cool!"

"Not so confident now, hey? And it gets even worse, because my silent magician is about to attack. Go, Silent Magic Blast." The named monster shot out another white ball of magical energy. She launched it directly at Jeremy, blowing him off his feet again.

Jeremy: 5800-2400

"I end my turn with two cards face-down."

Slade and Jagger grinned in anticipation as they watched Jeremy losing.

"Whoa! That was something massive!" Jaden exclaimed.

"The situation appears to have turned against Jeremy rather quickly," Eileen commented.

"He'll be able to pull it off," Joey said. 'If he draws that card he got from grandpa's shop.'

"Come on Jeremy, you can do this!" Sheppard cried out. "You can get up!"

"Don't give up, Jeremy!" Christine encouraged her friend.

"Jeremy! Jeremy! Jeremy! Jeremy!" The Duel Academy students chanted.

"Czar! Czar! Czar! Czar!" the North Academy group shot back.

"Jeremy! Jeremy! Jeremy! Jeremy!"

The Slifer boy in question got up in a flash. "Thanks everyone. I've gotta hand it to you, that combo you've got is a really tough one."

"Yes, and one that you won't be breaking out of anytime soon."

"Hey, the duel ain't over yet. I've still got a chance to win this. So here goes." 'Hmm, nothing that can really help me much here, especially since his spell will just destroy all my warriors. Might as well get a new hand.' "I activate Card Destruction, and since I'm the only one holding cards, I'll toss em out to draw the same number from my deck. Then I place a monster face-down and two cards face-down."

"My turn then. I play Spellbook Inside the Pot, so we both draw three cards. Then I summon Blast Magician." An elderly man appeared on the field. He wore dark clothing and was covered with red, including a hat which hid most of his face and curved downward at the tip. Apart from such, he held a think staff in one hand with a strange curved blade at the end. (1400) "Blast Magician, attack." The new spellcaster conjured fire with his staff and hurled it at the face-down monster.

"I activate Negate Attack." A transparent barrier materialized around Jeremy's defending card.

"And I chain my Trap Jammer. So now your Negate Attack is cancelled." The barrier dissolved and the blast of fire went through, revealing and setting fire to a plant with a green bushy top.

"You just activated my Fiber Jar's effect. So we combine our cards with our decks, shuffle and draw five."

"I don't think so. I activate my other trap, Divine Wrath. And at the cost of sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, I can negate your monster's effect." The fire completely burned the plant monster to ashes. "Now, Silent Magician, strike him directly. Silent Magic Blast." Again, the tall female spellcaster charged up a ball of magic in the tip of her staff.

"Oh no! It's all over!" Sheppard said.

"Aww man. If this hits, Jeremy's done for!" Syrus moaned.

"Jeremy!" Christine called out.

"Not so fast, Czar. I've still got my other face-down. Ultimate Offering. Thanks to this, I'm allowed to normal summon or set a monster during my main phase, or your battle phase, even if I have to give up 500 life-points. And that's just what I'm gonna do."

Jeremy: 2300-1800

"Now since that spell card of yours only affects face-up monsters, I'll place this guy face-down." The image of the back of a card appeared in front of Jeremy.

"That doesn't matter. It'll still be destroyed." Czar's magician released her attack. Jeremy's face-down monster was replaced by Irou kneeling down, who valiantly took the hit.

"Whoa! That was a close one," Joey said.

"No joke," Erik added.

"At least now he's got another turn to figure out how to turn this duel around," Jaden remained optimistic.

"But what can he do?" Bastion spoke up. "He's already used up one of his only non warrior type monsters, Fiber Jar. His only other one is Vanity's Ruler. And despite its effect, it needs a thousand more attack points to even match that magician."

"Even though the situation isn't exactly in Jeremy's favor," Zane began. "It's still possible that he's put something else in his deck, something unexpected that could catch Czar by surprise. After all, he has done that kind of thing before. Other than that, he won't be able to last much longer."

"Then let's hope for the best," Alexis said.

"You may have gotten away from that one, but I can assure you, it won't be for much longer. I end my turn with one card face-down." 'Now I've got the perfect defense,' he thought to himself. 'Even if he somehow manages to summon a monster that isn't destroyed and has enough attack points to defeat either one of my monsters, I can activate Magic Spirit Barrier to block his attack.'

"Alright then, it's my turn," Jeremy announced as he drew his card. 'It's you,' he thought upon seeing the card he'd just drawn. 'I haven't played you in a while. It's been far too long. I can still remember the day I found you.' Jeremy's mind returned to the moment when he obtained his card.

* * *

A younger version of Jeremy, along with his father and mother, were in the card shop owned by Solomon Moto, Yugi's grandfather. His parents had accompanied him here so he could get his own cards to build his deck. After talking with the young boy for a bit, the gray haired man had come up with an idea for what kind of cards to give him. He went to a shelf on the wall and pulled out a bunch of cards from a box stacked there.

He presented to him his very first six samurai cards. Jeremy had been overjoyed at this and listened intently to the story he told about them. When he was finished explaining, his attention happened to be diverted by a specific card, which was lying behind a glass window along with a few others. "Hey, grandpa," the young Jeremy spoke up. "Can I see that card?" he pointed to the one in question.

"Of course, just a moment." He complied with his request and took out the card. Though he was confused a little, he still passed it on to him so that he could see. "That's strange, this card doesn't really go with the samurais I gave you."

Jeremy looked at the card he held, examining the image of the monster. "I still think it's pretty cool. I like this card. Mom, can I have this one too? Pleeeeeease?"

"If it's that special to you, then I don't see any problem with that," Mai answered.

"We'll get you that card alright," Joey added.

"Weeeeeeeeee! Thanks mom, dad! You too gramps!"

"You're welcome," Solomon replied. "It's always a pleasure."

* * *

Jeremy's mind returned to the present time and to the duel he was in. 'Well then, you sure showed up just when I needed you. So let's do this!' "First, I'm gonna place one monster face-down and give up 500 life-points to bring out another."

Jeremy: 1800-1300

Two face-down monsters appeared in front of Jeremy. "What's Jeremy planning?" Chumley asked.

"Well, he could either be setting up a defense," Bastion suggested. "Or he might be planning to sacrifice his two monsters."

"But what good'll that do?" Syrus piped up. "The only monster worth sacrificing right for now is his Vanity's Ruler. And he's not nearly as strong as that Silent Magician."

"Hey, who ever said I was playing him?" A bunch of the Duel Academy students were surprised by his words. "That's right. I'm sacrificing both my monsters to summon something else."

Jeremy: 1300-800

"Now, presenting… Storm Shooter." Both of Jeremy's face-down monsters disappeared and were replaced by a monster none of the spectators had expected. It was a majestic and elegant feminine figure. Much of her body was covered in blue feathers, safe for a pair of magnificent golden feathered wings that extended from her arms. On her head there was an arrangement of more golden feathers, shaped so as to look like a diadem. Her hands and feet were like those of a human, except that they had short claws at the tip. (2300)

"I guess this qualifies as unexpected," Zane commented.

"So, he got that card then," Joey murmured.

"Wow, cool monster," Jaden said. "Wonder what it can do?"

Czar sneered at Jeremy's newest monster. "Your monster may escape the effect of my spell card, but its attack points are nowhere near those of my Silent Magician."

"He's right," Bastion noted.

"Aww man, what's Jeremy thinking?" Syrus asked.

"Don't worry folks, I know exactly what I'm doing. Cause Storm Shooter has a handy special ability. Once per turn, I can either change it to an unoccupied monster card zone, or return one of your monster, spell or trap cards to your hand that's lined up her. So your Silent Magician, is gonna get blown away." The elegant winged creature flapped her wings, creating a gust of wind that forced the powerful magician off the field. "And I'm not done yet. I play the equip spell, Eye of the Storm. I can only equip this to my Storm Shooter, but it changes her effect so that I can return one card on the field to its owner's hand once per turn."

"So what? You've already used up your monster's ability for this turn."

"This turn maybe, but thanks to Turn Jump, the duel fast forwards three turns ahead to the same phase as I play this card. Which basically translates into, 'sorry, but you're about to lose'. Cause now Storm Shooter can send Blast Magician back to your hand." The feminine monster flapped her wings again, creating a tornado that blew away the fiery magician. "Now attack him directly and end this duel." Storm Shooter flew down at the North Academy student, swinging a fist at him hard enough to knock him down.

Czar: 1900-0

"And that's all there is to it!" Jeremy said.

"That was so lishus!"

"Totally awesome!"

"Way cool!"

"Simply remarkable."

"I knew he could do it!"

"Great job!"

"Nice."

"Not bad, not bad at all."

"Way to go, kiddo!"

"That was rather impressive."

"Yes!" Sheppard cried out loudly. "I knew it! I knew he was going to win! The prize is sure to be mine now!"

"Ahem," Crowler spoke in the microphone. "And the winner of our first match is, Jeremy Wheeler. Congratulations." The Duel Academy people cheered loudly. "Now, please clear the stage for the next match."

Jeremy and Czar walked off the stage and went to their seats in the audience as Chazz and Jaden came down for their duel. "Sorry I lost, Chazz," Czar said.

"Whatever."

"It's your turn now. Time for you to Chazz it up."

"Sweet duel Jeremy!"

"Thanks Jaden. Now go out there and get im." The two Slifers bumped fists and went on to their places for the big rematch.

* * *

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you liked it. If you've got anything to say, please feel free to go ahead and say it. Here are cards I made up that appeared in this duel.

**Eye of the Storm**

Equip Spell

Effect: Equip only to a 'Storm Shooter' you control. Change its ability to: 'Once per turn, you can return a card on the field to its owner's hand.'

Image: Storm Shooter hovering in the middle of a tornado.

**Magician/Warrior Rivalry**

Continuous spell

Effect: If you control a level 7 or higher spellcaster and have another in your grave, along with Warrior Elimination, destroy all warrior type monsters on the field. If you control a level 7 or higher warrior and have another in your grave, along with The Last Day of Witch, destroy all spellcaster type monsters on the field. If one or more of these conditions is not met, destroy this card.

Image: Buster Blader and Dark Magician facing each other with sword and staff crossed.

And this following card was not thought up by me.

**Magic Spirit Barrier**

Normal Trap

Remove 1 Spellcaster monster from your deck. Negate one attack on your monster.

Image: Illusion Magician blocking a shot for Dark Magician Girl

It was created by Duelist of Dawn, all rights go to him, and thanks to him for letting me use it (even if I didn't actually use it).

**Next chapter:** It's the big rematch. Chazz vs. Jaden in: The School Duel - Part 2


	31. The School Duel Part 2

Disclaimer: I'm feeling lazy, but... I still don't own this stuff.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**The School Duel – Part 2**

Following his victory against Czar, Jeremy had made his way to where his all his friends were sitting. After congratulating him for his success, he sat down with them and watched as Jaden and Chazz faced each other in the center of the arena. "So, Chazz, you ready for our big rematch?" Jaden asked.

"Of course I am! I've been ready for a long time."

"Good."

"Then let's see what you got."

"With pleasure."

"No, the pleasure's gonna be all mine. Cause you're going down!"

"Duel!"

Chazz: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"Chazz it up! Take it to him Chazz!" The North Academy boys cheered.

"Ask and you shall receive," Chazz said as he drew. "For my first move, I'm gonna summon a monster with some bite. Rise, Masked Dragon." The dragon that appeared had a red covering that went from the end of its long serpentine neck to the tip of its elongated tail. The rest of its body was a beige grayish color, safe for the inside of its wings which were purple. It crouched down before Chazz. (1100) "That'll do for now."

"Not once you see what I've got for ya. I play, Elemental Hero Burstinatrix, in attack mode." The red female hero rose in a spout of fire. (1200) "Actually, on second thought, I should say slayer mode. Cause that's just what she's gonna do to that dragon." Burstinatrix gathered a large fireball in her hands and hurled it at the enemy dragon.

"Awesome, Jaden's just taken the lead," Syrus cheered.

"You mean, he's taken the bait," Chazz corrected.

"Uh oh," Jaden said.

"I activate my Masked Dragon's ability. You see, when this card is sent to the graveyard as a result of battle, I can summon a dragon type monster with 1500 or fewer attack points from my deck. And I have just the one. Go ahead and see for yourself. Come on out, Armed Dragon, LV 3." A smaller pudgy dragon appeared in the last one's place. Its body was mostly orange, except for its neck, the top half of its head, the back of his hands, small wings, as well as its stubbed tail, which were a dull brown color. (1200)

"Another level monster?" Chumley spoke up.

"If this dragon's anywhere near as strong as that Silent Magician, then Jaden's in for a rough time," Jeremy said.

"Yeah, if Chazz plays his cards right, that dragon will get a lot bigger, and a lot more powerful," Alexis noted.

"Indeed," Bastion agreed. "I just wonder where Chazz ever got such a powerful card."

"What?" Sheppard said in surprise. "That's your school's top card! You didn't!"

"Like I said Sheppard, I want that prize, and I'm going to get it."

"You… you… you." Sheppard turned away from his rival chancellor and tried cheering for Jaden. "Let's go Jaden. Come on, Jaden it up!"

"Yeah, uhh sure. Anyway, sweet card, Chazz. I can't wait to see wait to see what that armed Dragon can do."

"Don't worry, you'll have a front row seat."

"Till then. But for now, I'll be throwing down a face-down and ending my turn."

"Great, now I can start ending you." Chazz picked up his top card and grinned in anticipation. "You see Jaden, during my standby phase, Armed Dragon's effect activates. So by sacrificing his level three form, I can summon Armed Dragon Level 5 from my hand or deck."

"This can't be good," Joey said.

"I concur," Jeremy added.

"Now then, let's go ahead and get to it, shall we? Armed Dragon LV 5, rise!" The smaller dragon disappeared in a flash of light, and was replaced by another. This one was built the same general way as the last. The differences were that it was bigger, where the other had been orange and brown, this one was red and black. Apart from that, it had spiked on its knuckles, shoulders, knees and back, amongst others. (2400) The North Academy students cheered for Chazz at this.

"Whoa, that Armed Dragon just doubled in strength," Christine noted. "And its effect probably changed into something nasty."

"Be careful Jaden," Bastion warned. "By leveling up, has substantially increased. And he was powerful enough before."

"Aww man."

"Wow, Chazz. That thing's pretty sweet. But then, so is my trap. Hero Ring. And I'll equip it to Burstinatrix." The named trap card dissolved and materialized as a small red shield attached to the fire heroine's arm. "Now monsters with 1900 or more attack points can't attack. Hence the breaks."

Chazz simply laughed at Jaden's move. "You want breaks? I'll give you breaks, Jaden. Because even with that Hero Ring shield out, my Armed Dragon LV 5, is going to crush your creature."

"How?"

"Armed Dragon's special ability, that's how. You see, by sending a monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy one of your monsters with equal or less attack points than the one I tossed."

"Wait, so…"

"So, since Flying Kamakiri #1 has more attack points than your monster…"

"Then Jaden's Burstinatrix is history," Erik pitched in.

"Sorry Burst, my bad."

"Go, Armed Dragon LV 5, Shrapnel Blast." The big dragon roared as the spikes all around its body shot out, sailing through the air before coming down on the red heroine, blowing her away in an explosion. "And that was just his special ability. Now, time for his direct attack. Inferno Roar." Armed Dragon opened its maw and cried out, at which red blades of energy shot out and slammed into Jaden, blasting him off his feet and sending him crashing into the ground further back.

Jaden: 4000-1600

"Jaden!" Eileen called out, worry on her face at seeing her son beaten back like this.

"So that's Duel Academy's best, huh?"

"Come on Jaden, please get up!" Sheppard said.

Jaden flipped up to his feet. "Nice shot," he complimented Chazz. "Although, I've gotta say, I think for the next TV broadcast, I'd like to arrange to have a stunt double." Jaden laughed at this.

Eileen smiled upon seeing him in his condition. "Whew, that's Jaden alright. Always has something of the sort to say."

"Whatever. I'm placing one card face-down and ending my turn."

"He's finally acting like a Princeton," Jagger commented.

"That's true, I just hope he doesn't win too fast." The bearded Princeton looked at Slade with confusion on his face. "Hey, the longer he thrashed this kid, the more we make of commercial revenues."

"My go," Jaden announced. "You're in trouble now. I play Elemental Hero Bubbleman, in attack mode." The water hero appeared on the field, his cape billowing behind him. (800) "And when Bubbleman is summoned and there are no other cards out on my field, like right now, I'm allowed to draw two more cards. And now I'll use one of them, Polymerization."

"Alright! Now Jaden can bring out his heavy hitters," Jeremy remarked.

"So I'll fuse Elemental Hero Avian and Sparkman with Bubbleman to create… wait for it…" The three named heroes changed into a swirl of blue, green and yellow light which began to intertwine. "The Elemental Hero Tempest." The lights merged to form the cannon armed, powerful winged hero. (2800)

"That's it, you go im now Jay," Syrus cheered.

"With fly boy there?" Chazz sneered.

"You'd better believe it. And he gives a new definition to the term air power. Now go, Glider Strike." Tempest flew into the air and cocked the weapon on his arm, firing a blast of blue energy which blew away the red and black dragon.

Chazz: 4000-3600

"Sorry Jaden, but you just wasted your move. Because I have my trap card, Call of the Haunted."

"Uh oh."

"Not that one," Syrus moaned.

"Do you believe in ghosts? Well you're about to. Because this card let's me summon back any moster from my graveyard. And I bet you can guess which one I'm gonna pick. Armed Dragon LV 5, rise again." The named monster rose again on Chazz's field. (2400)

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Show no mercy!"

"Well, guess I'll just throw down a couple of face-downs and hope for the best." Two reverse cards appeared between Jaden and his monster.

'Go ahead,' Chazz thought to himself. 'Because with what I have in store for you, even your best won't be enough.' "Get ready for me to mop this low rent Duel Academy floor with you, Jaden. Cause now, I'm using Armed Dragon's special ability. I'm discarding Despair from the Dark to the graveyard. And since it has 2800 attack points, you're bird man's headed to the pet cemetery. Armed Dragon, destroy hero Tempest, with Shrapnel Blast." The dragon's spikes shot out towards Jaden's monster.

"I activate, the spell De-Fusion. Tempest, de-fuse." Tempest separated into the three original monsters, avoiding the dragon's ability. (1400) (1000) (1200)

"Whoa, that was a close one," Alexis commented.

"No joke, he barely saved his monsters," Chumley added.

"Whatever, my dragon still has his attack to use. Go, Inferno Roar." Armed Dragon roared and sent red blades of energy that destroyed Sparkman in an explosion that obscured the field. When the smoke cleared, Jaden was still standing as confident with his two monster before him.

Jaden: 4600

"What!" Chazz exclaimed, visibly surprised. "Where did you get all those extra life-points?"

"Sorry Chazz, but just before you attacked, I activated my Elemental Recharge. And it gave me a thousand more life-points for each of my Elemental Heroes. So that was 3000 more points."

"Now that was some smart thinking," Eileen commented.

"Like that matters. Cause now I'm about to take this duel, and my dragon to the next level."

"What?"

"That's right. Since he destroyed one of your monsters in battle, at the end of my turn, I can upgrade Armed Dragon from LV 5 to LV 7. Won't you join me Jaden? In welcoming, the all powerful, Armed Dragon LV 7." The creature that took the other's place was even bigger. It's tail and neck were longer, black armor covered much of its body, including its head, and it had large steel wings extending from its back. (2800)

"Okay, so he's big," Jaden said. "But who knows, he could be friendly."

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume that he's not," Jeremy muttered.

"That's strange," Slade noted. "That monster wasn't in the suitcase I gave Chazz."

"What?"

"It had Armed Dragon LV 3 and 5, but no more than that."

"That little…"

Sheppard almost growled at Foster's smug expression. "Jaden! We're with you! Come on everybody, Jaden it up! Jaden it up!"

"Why don't you show him how it really goes?" Chazz suggested.

"Chazz it up! Show him no mercy!"

"Aww, what's wrong? No so talkative anymore? You don't have anything to say, Jaden?"

"Yeah, I do. I've gotta get me one of those. He's so cool! Trade for him?"

"No I won't trade for him! What's wrong with you? You should be scared of him, not admiring him."

"But how could I not? He's an incredible monster and this is an incredible duel. How could anyone not be exited. I mean, this is as good as it gets. This is what dueling's all about. Thanks Chazz."

"Thanks? You're pitiful Jaden. Jumping up and down like some fool, never taking anything seriously, that's why you'll never be a champion. You see, it takes discipline to win. You need to have a sense of duty. You need to have some kind of plan. And I have a plan, and a sense of duty, and that's why I'm gonna beat you, Jaden. That's why I'll beat anyone in my way. I can conquer anyone! You got that! I'm gonna conquer the whole world!"

"Oooooookaaaaayyyy," Jeremy said slowly. "Am I the only one weirded out by the way Chazz is acting?"

"No, I don't think so," Christine said.

"Yeah, same here," Alexis added.

"Ditto," Joey pitched in.

"Sooo, do you mind if I take my turn now?"

"Make it quick!"

"Chill. Alright, I'll place one card face-down and call it a turn. How's that for quick?"

"Not bad, but downright sluggish compared to how quick my dragon's gonna take out all your monsters. Watch this. I'm using my Armed Dragon's special ability. Now, by discarding a monster from my hand, all monsters you have out with equal or fewer attack points are automatically destroyed."

"That's not good."

"Oh no! That'll leave Jaden wide open," Alexis noted.

"That is one impressive special power," Zane commented.

"I discard Armed Dragon LV 3 to the graveyard, so all your monsters with 1200 or less attack points will be completely wiped out. Go, Serrated Sonic Disk. Destroy!" The powerful dragon's underbelly glowed blue, and then shot out twin disks of blue energy which struck down Avian and Bubbleman.

"Jaden, no!" Syrus exclaimed.

"This doesn't look so good," Jeremy said. "But he can still get out of it."

"It's okay Jaden!" Sheppard called out. "You can still come back. Jaden it up!"

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!"

"You got it!" Chazz reveled in the praise he was receiving. "This duel's over. It's time for you, to go bye, bye. Level seven Armed Dragon, attack Jaden directly with, Dragon Talon Terror." The red and black dragon raised its arm and swung it towards Jaden.

"Not so fast there Chazz, I have a trap, A Hero Emerges."

"What? Not that one."

"Yes, that one. And just like last time, you pick a card from my hand, and if it's a monster, I automatically get to summon it."

"This is a good move," Eileen commented. "Jaden only has one card left in his hand."

"Yeah, and that means that Chazz will have no choice but to choose it," Alexis noted.

Chazz looked annoyed at Jaden's move. "Obviously you're only holding one card, so I'll have to pick that one."

"Good choice, Chazz. Now I can bust out, Wroughtweiler, in defense mode." The metal dog sat down in front of the Slifer duelist. (1200)

"That doesn't change a thing. Your little metal doggy's gonna be recycled into a can of dog food, right after my Armed Dragon's done with it. Now go, crush that creature." The named monster brought his hand down on the defending hound, crushing it flat.

"Sorry Chazz, but before Wroughtweiler rolls belly up, his special ability activates. So now I get to take Polymerization and Burstinatrix in my graveyard, and add them to my hand."

"Not bad, slacker. But it'll take a lot more than that to beat my Armed Dragon. And a lot more than any pathetic monster you have in your deck. Face it Jaden, you're toast."

"I've gotta get something started." Jaden drew Winged Kuriboh, who called out to him.

"_Coo!_"

"Hey there Kuriboh. Maybe you can help me get out of this jam. I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode." Jaden's duel spirit materialized on his field. (200) "That'll do for now."

"Why'd you bring him out, Jaden, you planning to dust around here or something?" Kuriboh grew agitated at Chazz's words. "What? Did I hurt his widdle feelings?"

"It's okay if you did boss," Ojama Yellow said as he appeared next to Chazz's head. "I mean, those furballs give me the creeps. Just at them, all that hair. I mean, where did these monsters come from? It's so weird."

"Get lost!" Chazz shot back. "If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you. You got that!"

"I got it, Boss," he answered dejectedly. "Sorry."

Winged Kuriboh hopped up on Jaden's shoulder and pointed to Ojama Yellow. "_Coo!_"

"What're you squeaking? Chazz has got a duel spirit? Hey, I see him. So Chazz, who's you're little friend?"

"It's nothing!" Chazz responded, at the same time as he frantically grabbed at the yellow spirit monster. "Just a figment of your imagination. Nothing to see here. No duel spirits at all. Leave me alone!" He finally caught the spirit between his hand and it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"_That kid is too uptight to be this stressed out over his duel spirit,_" Shien's Footsoldier spoke next to Jeremy. "_But then again, the Ojamas were never my favorite bunch to hang out with._"

'Really?' Jeremy wondered. 'Why's that?'

"_They kinda left a bad impression last time I met one of them. Don't ask, because I won't tell._"

'Well, alright then.' Jeremy's spirit partner faded away as Chazz began his turn.

"Back to business, it's my turn. And your Kuriboh's turn to get blasted. Armed Dragon LV 7, attack. With Dragon Talon Terror." The mighty dragon raised its arm and slammed it into the furry monster. "And I'll leave it at that."

"Wait, why didn't Chazz use his Armed Dragon's ability?" Syrus asked.

"Because Kuriboh's would have cancelled it out," Bastion explained. "The turn in which he's destroyed, Jaden takes no damage."

"My turn now. And I activate, Legacy of a Hero. When I have two level four or below Elemental Heroes in the graveyard, this lets me draw three cards. Alright!" Jaden said as he looked at his cards. "Just the card to turn this duel around, and around and around."

"Say what!

"Here, see for yourself. Go, Special Hurricane."

"What the-?"

"By discarding one card from my hand I can use this spell card, and destroy all monsters that were special summoned." The Armed Dragon struggled against the tornado that blew its way, but it was of no use and it was destroyed anyway.

"Nice move," Joey commented. "Now Chazz's field is empty."

"This can't be!" Chazz said.

"Oh it be alright. And now you be in some big time trouble. Cause your best monster's off the field, and you're all alone on it."

"So lishus, that's totally what I would've done. If I had those cards, and if Jaden were walking me through it step by step."

"Are you sure that's all?" Bastion asked. "Are you sure you wouldn't need him to hold your hand as well."

"Way to play Jayman," Jeremy cheered.

"Now follow through and take it to Chazz's life-points," Syrus said.

"You got it Sy. I summon, Elemental Hero Wildheart." The muscular tribal hero appeared in front of Jaden. (1500) "And now Chazz, you're in for some heart break. Uhh… actually, that doesn't make any sense. Just attack." Jaden's warrior jumped up in the air and drew his large sword, hitting Chazz with a downward slash that sent him crashing back.

Chazz: 3600-2100

"Ha, ha! The prize is so mine!" Sheppard gloated to Foster. "The prize is so mine! After all, looks like your boy's down for the count. Soooorry!"

"Oh no he's not! Chazz get up!"

"Chazz get up! Chazz get up! Chazz get up!" The North Academy boys spurred him on."

"Jagger, what does Chazz think he's doing! We've given him the best cards in the world, but he's not using them!"

"Alright," Eileen said. "Jaden's in the lead now."

"It's, my turn. I play, Graveyard in the Fourth Dimension. This baby lets me take two monsters from my graveyard and shuffle them into my deck. Sure, they have to be a special kind of monsters, but it's just the kind I need. My Armed Dragons. And I happen to have another one in my hand as well. I summon Armed Dragon LV 3." The pudgy orange and brown dragon crouched down on Chazz's field. (900)

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up!"

"Yeah, and now Jaden's about to be washed up. I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." 'I have to win this, I can't let my brothers down.' "I'm trying!"

"Uhh, trying what? To weird me out? Hello? Earth to Chazz?" Jaden then noticed that Chazz was looking at his two brothers sitting in the higher seats. "His brothers… Poor guy," he muttered. 'He's gotta realize that only thing worth dueling for is fun.' "Alright, my turn. Wildheart, attack that Armed Dragon with, Wild Slash." The tribal warrior charged Chazz's dragon and took him out with one swing of his sword.

"Thanks for that. Now I can play my trap, it's called the Grave of Enkindling. Since a monster was just destroyed in battle, it lets us both summon a monster from our graveyard and play it in defense mode. And I choose another Armed Dragon, this time, LV 5." The taller red and black dragon rose on the field with its arms crossed. (1700)

"Grave of Enkindling made that way to easy," Syrus said. "It's practically unfair. Isn't there any drawback to using it?"

"If I recall correctly, by rule, the resurrected monster must remain in defense mode," Bastion explained. "After all, with its special ability, Chazz can destroy one of Jaden's monsters by discarding a monster from his hand with more or equal attack points."

"Well, what're you waiting for? Take a monster from your graveyard. But let me tell you, it's gonna be a round trip."

"Uh, monster? Sorry, but I think you mean monsters."

"Please, what are you talking about? My trap only allows you to bring one monster back."

"I'm bringing back Hero Kid from the graveyard." A young boy wearing a red and white astronaut like suit with a dome helmet and wearing an eye mask kneeled down beside Wildheart. (600)

"What? He wasn't in your graveyard."

"Think again. Remember what I did last turn?"

"Oh, yeah."

"And like I said, it's not just him, cause when Hero Kid is special summoned, I get to call out every other Hero Kid in my deck." Two more young boys just like the first appeared. (600) x2 "And now I'll throw down a face-down and call it a turn."

"I see, by playing three monsters, you think I'll have to discard three cards to destroy them, right? You wish. I don't have to get rid of three cards, all I have to play two."

"Okay, this can't be good," Christine commented.

"That's for sure," Erik added.

"I don't like that sound of this one bit," Sheppard said.

"Here goes. I activate the spell card, Level Up."

"Uh oh."

"Oh boy, not that card," Jeremy said.

"This is bad," Syrus moaned.

"Now thanks to this, I can level up my monster, so now he becomes, Armed Dragon Level 7." The defending dragon disappeared and was replaced by its larger, more powerful form. (2800)

Slade grinned at this. "Yes!"

"Good!" Slade said.

"No!" Zane exclaimed. "With that, Chazz can destroy all of Jaden's monsters if he has one in his hand with enough attack points."

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!"

"I've been waiting a long time to tell you this, Jaden. So listen up. I got my game on. And I'm about to turn yours off."

"That's it baby," one of the TV crewmembers said into his megaphone. "The whole world's watching you shine."

"Then keep it rolling. Cause you ain't seen nothing yet. Now, like I said, I've got two cards to play, and Level Up was just the first." Chazz chuckled to himself. "You see Jaden, I'm about to bring Armed Dragon to his ultimate level."

"Wait a sec," Chumley said. "So, Armed Dragon LV 7 isn't the highest Chazz can go?"

"Apparently not," Jeremy answered. "And I'm not liking the sound of this."

"Now, by sacrificing my Armed Dragon in his current form, I can summon the creature of your demise. So come on out, Armed Dragon LV 10!" Chazz's dragon disappeared and was succeeded by one that was even bigger. It stood on two legs like Wildheart, its body was red, it was covered in glistening metal armor from head to shoulders and on its front. Its claws, mask, spikes and steel wings shone with a menacing glint. (3000)

"Whoa! That's big!" Jaden exclaimed.

"You're right. And just wait until you see his special ability. By discarding any card in my hand, I can destroy every one of your monsters."

"This… is NOT good!" Jeremy freaked.

"Any card!" Alexis exclaimed.

"Aww man."

"Not lishus."

"This looks bad," Joey commented.

Chazz put one of his cards in the graveyard. "Armed Dragon, destroy!" The most powerful monster yet roared loudly, creating a sound wave that blew away all of Jaden's monsters. "And now, attack. Static Orb Thrust." The Armed Dragon created a ball of sizzling black and purple energy in the palm of its hand. It then launched it directly at Jaden, creating an explosion that blew away most of his life-points.

Jaden: 4600-1600

"Jaden!" Eileen cried out.

"Tell you what, Jaden. If you surrender now, I might not embarrass you on global TV. Oh wait, I already did." Chazz laughed in a maniacal manner.

"Jaden! Keep fighting, don't give up!" Worry seeped into Sheppard's voice.

"Who's giving up? I mean, I'm having way too much fun to give up. After all, that's what dueling's all about, win or lose. Cause if you're having fun, you win every time."

"Gag me."

"It's true. If I can have fun right now losing, shouldn't you be able to do the same while winning? It's seriously not that hard. Despite what your brothers might want you to believe."

"What? Wadda you know about my brothers?"

"Well, for starters, I know they're the ones you're dueling for. And the ones putting all this pressure on you. Come one Chazz. Remember when you dueled for the excitement of it?"

"I only duel to win."

"Well, we'll see where that get's you. So here goes."

"Yes!" Eileen exclaimed. "Come on Jaden! Show him what you've got!"

"Alright then. I play, The Warrior Returning Alive. Now I can bring a Warrior Type monster back from the grave and to my hand. And I think I'll choose, my favorite feathered friend, Elemental Hero Avian. And then, with Polymerization and Burstinatrix, I'll make, the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." The red and greed heroes merged and created Jaden's headliner. (2100)

"So? He doesn't stand a chance against my monster. Armed Dragon has 3000 attack points. You're Wingman only has 2100. You're way outmatched."

"Wrong, Chazz. Cause I'm inviting my three Hero Kids to come back out and play." A bunch of the people in the audience were surprised by this statement.

"To play?"

"Yeah, with your points. I play, Miracle Kids. Here's how it works. For every Hero Kid I have in the graveyard, your Armed Dragon loses 400 attack points. And since I have three, Armed Dragon's attack points decrease by 1200." The three kids' ghosts appeared and lunged at the dragon, fading upon contact, but not without draining his power. (3000-1800) "Now who's outmatched? Actually, don't answer that, Flame Wingman will for you." The named hero shot a blast of fire from its dragon head arm and Chazz's monster.

"Ahh! Chazz is gonna lose," the megaphone crewman exclaimed. "Cut the transmission! Cut it right now!" TV screens all around that were showing the duel went blank, much to the disappointment of the people watching. The fire then overcame Armed Dragon.

Chazz: 2100-1800

"Alright! Jaden just took out that Armed Dragon with one attack."

"And the assault's not over yet, Syrus," Bastion noted. "Flame Wingman still has his super power. It comes next."

"Yeah, and it's really gonna burn Chazz," Alexis commented. "His life-points will now take damage equal to his destroyed monster's attack points. That's 1800."

Chazz: 1800-0

All the Duel Academy people cheered for Jaden's victory.

"Nice duel!" Joey said.

"Way to play, Jayman."

"Lishus!"

"Good moves."

"Cool."

"Well played."

"Wicked!"

"I knew you could do it!" Eileen said.

Jaden did his signature victory pose as the holograms faded away. "That's game!"

Chazz only stayed on his hands and knees with his head down as his brothers approached him. "You loser! You dog! You've disgraced yourself. You've disgraced the Princeton name," Slade reproached him.

"You are no brother of ours anymore."

"Just give me… another chance."

"Another chance!" Jagger said angrily. "Do you know how much we spent on this duel!"

"The cameras, the rare cards, none of which you used, might I add."

"Sorry, I thought I could win this by myself."

"Yourself!" Jagger grabbed Chazz by the front of his shirt and held him up in front of his face.

"When could you do anything by yourself, Chazz!"

"I just…" but Slade would hear nothing of it. He let go of Chazz with one hand and pulled it back, as if to smack him, but found that his arm was stopped by someone else before he had a chance to bring it forward.

Joey, Jeremy, Eileen, Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, Christine, Alexis, Zane and Erik had all come down from their seats. Joey stood next to Slade, the Princeton's arm trapped in his grip. "Let im go," he said in a very serious tone.

"Who do you think you are?" Jagger asked, while struggling against the blond man's hold on his arm. Slade took a step towards Joey, about to make him back off, but he was intercepted by Jeremy who knocked him to the ground with a shoulder check. Joey then applied pressure to Jagger's wrist, causing him to forget about Chazz. Jeremy helped him to his feet and away from his brothers as his Joey released his grip and joined them with the others.

"You two really need to learn a few things about taking care of someone," Joey said.

"You alright there, Chazz?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm fine," he said dejectedly.

"No you aren't," Slade shot back. "You lost!"

"Hey, Chazz may have lost the duel," Jaden started. "But how could he not with you two jerks breathing down his neck?"

"Two jerks?" Jagger asked, venom seeping into his voice as he massaged his wrist. "Do you have any idea who we are? We could have you crushed, kid."

"You heard him alright," Eileen spoke up. "You two are nothing more than a pair of stiff, ugly jerks." Jaden seemed almost surprised to see his mother talking in such a manner.

"Why defend Chazz anyway?" Slade asked. "He's a nobody now. Disowned by us. And by the whole world. The cameras caught enough of it. He got schooled, he got mopped off, he got beat!"

"Wrong, there's one fight he did win. The fight against you two. Sure, Chazz may not have won the duel, but at least he fought it on his own terms. It's like he said, he used his cards, not what your money could buy."

"Right on Jaden!" Crowler cried out, tears falling from his eyes. "I mean… you no good Slifer slacker."

"Tight duel, Chazz. And I know it sounds cheesy, but I think the truth of it is, we both won here."

"You're just saying that," Chazz said with his head bowed down. "I mean, come on. Nobody else believes that."

"We do Chazz!" one of the North Academy boys said.

"Same here!" a Duel Academy student added.

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!" all the students cheered loudly for Chazz, tears coming to some of them.

* * *

Shortly after, the two older Princeton brothers, along with all the TV crew and equipment, were on their way off the island. Jaden and Jeremy were on the docks, saying goodbye to their parents. "Well Jeremy, you're doing a great job here. Just keep at it, and don't forget to have fun."

"Don't you worry bout a thing, dad." They each extended an arm for a handshake, but both pulled back at the same time and slicked back the hair over of their ear. They grinned at this and bumped fists, before grasping the other in a one arm man hug.

"It's been real good seeing you again, mom," Jaden said.

"It's been good to see you to Jaden. I'll miss you." Eileen then grasped her son in a rather firm hug, which he had a certain amount of difficulty returning.

"Uhh, mom? Hard time breathing right now."

"Sorry." She let go of him. "Good bye you two."

"Bye guys."

"Bye!" Jaden and Jeremy called back as Jeremy and Eileen headed towards the boat to take them off the island.

The two Slifers then went to rejoin all the others who were waiting near the North Academy submarine. They met up with Chazz there. "Well Chazz, I guess this is goodbye. Now don't forget to write."

"Jaden, I'm not going back. Look guys," he addressed the North Academy boys waiting for him on their sub. "I don't belong with you."

"Then where do you belong?" Czar asked.

"Right here. Duel Academy was always my home."

"But you're our best duelist Chazz. You sure?"

"I am. If Chancellor Sheppard will have me back that is."

"Well Chazz, you were one of our best students here. And after your performance today, how could I say no?"

"Guess I'll be going then," Foster said.

"May I have your attention please?" They all turned around to see Crowler standing on a stage erected nearby. "And now, to present to prize in this year's match between North Academy and Duel Academy, I give you the most beautiful woman on the island, Miss Duel Academy!"

"Whoa! Sounds hot!" Jaden said.

"Here she is!" Dorothy walked out from behind the curtain, except that she was wearing an orange dress, emerald colored earings, and makeup on her face.

"DOROTHY'S MISS DUEL ACADEMY!" Syrus, Jaden and many of the other student's faces had complete shock imprinted on them. Jeremy, amongst others, had fallen over upon seeing her.

"Will the winning Chancellor please approach the stage?" Sheppard walked up to the stage, and stood next to Dorothy. He leaned his cheek towards her and she planted a kiss on it.

"A kiss! That's the big prize you two were going on about?"

Foster began to cry loudly at the sight. "I can't bear to watch! Wait for me! I'll be back next year, my lady!" At that, he ran to the sub, tears streaking down his face liberally.

"That's a chick?" Chazz asked.

After the North Academy people all got on their sub, they pulled back the bridge and pushed off. "Bye Chazz."

"Don't worry Foster, I'll take good care of her for you." This only served to make Foster cry out even more, if at all possible.

"We'll miss you Chazz," Czar said, tears falling from his eyes as well.

"Just one last cheer," Kyle proposed.

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!" they said, amidst a bunch of tears.

"See you next year."

"There is one thing, Chazz," Sheppard spoke up.

"What's that?"

"Banner, could you explain it to him?"

"Since you dropped out of Duel Academy and are now coming back, you are technically a new student. Therefore you must start at the bottom, at Slifer Red."

"Slifer!"

"Yes. Welcome. We'll get you fitted for a blazer as soon as we get back to the dorm. Then, we'll find you a roommate."

"Roommate! Look here! Chazz Princeton rooms alone! You guys got that?"

"Alone, huh? Do cockroaches count?" Syrus asked.

"What!"

"The dorm's got a few," Jaden said. "And some mice."

"Mice?"

"Yeah, but it's really the rats you've gotta look out for," Jeremy said with a grin on his face. "They're these big harry things, with really nasty teeth."

"RATS! I changed my mind! Turn the sub around!"

"Guys, how bout we give him the Slifer cheer?" Jaden suggested.

"I don't want it!"

"S-L-I-F-E-R!" they, minus Chazz, said enthusiastically.

"Can we just stick with Chazz it up?"

"Or Slifer it up!" They all surrounded Chazz with a group hug, something he didn't find quite so appealing.

He sat in the ground, covering his head with his arms. "This stinks. My new family is already dysfunctional."

"Dorothy my dear, I'll come back for you," Foster could be heard shouting. "I'll come back." They all finished this part of the day laughing, for the most of them.

* * *

So, that part's finally over. Next comes the Shadow Rider arc. I've got some good stuff that'll be coming up, but I'm taking a break from this fic for a short while, cause I figured this was a good place for that. Anyway, hope you liked it and please review.

**Next chapter: **Somehow, a field trip to see some ruins turns into Jaden and Jeremy having to fight for their friends' lives. Part 1 of 2 (Jaden vs The Keepers of the Grave)


	32. Buried Alive? Let's Hope Not! Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff. Boo hoo!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Buried Alive? Let's Hope Not! - Part 1  
**

Late in the night at Academy island, at the Slifer dorm, everything was quiet. Although Jaden, Jeremy and Jaden were sound asleep, they were still snoring away. Syrus crept down from his bunk, his eyes weary from fatigue. "That's the last time I mix chilli sauce with ice cream," he muttered to himself. The diminutive Slifer boy walked out of their room, quietly closing the door behind him. He went down the stairs and around the building to where he thought the bathroom was. But when he opened up the door, he saw a blue glow from a computer. "Oh, whoops. This isn't the bathroom." Syrus went to close the door, but noticed that this was Banner's room, and that the Slifer headmaster was sitting at his computer.

"You are not here to ask why," a strange voice spoke from the other end of a communication. "You are here to obey."

"But Jaden and Jeremy are some of our best students," Banner replied. "They could be buried alive."

"Buried?" Syrus wondered to himself.

"If the tomb shall be the end of Jaden Yuki and Jeremy Wheeler, then so be it. But their true potential must be tested."

Syrus closed the door and crept back slowly. 'Tested? In a tomb? Where they could be buried alive? Something tells me this isn't mid-terms.'

* * *

The following day, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and Jeremy were sitting close to each other for Banner's alchemy class. There were not that many students apart from them, so they had a fair bit of space around them. Jaden had painted black dots over his eyelids, so that when he was sleeping with his eyes closed, it gave some impression that he was awake. Jeremy, on the other hand, was actually making some attempt to avoid drifting off, even though it was really just a half hearted one. He held his chin in his hands and tried to keep his eyes open as wide as he could.

"So, as you can see, we can learn a great deal about dueling from alchemy," Banner spoke to his class. He had a series vials with different types of liquids in them. "And just like you might combine two monsters to create another, you can combine two compounds to create something equally impressive." Jeremy's eyes closed shut at that moment and his head fell down on his desk, sleeping away like his friend. Banner tipped a substance from a small tube into a vial he held, then stirred it by shaking it a little. It suddenly exploded with a bang, creating a cloud of smoke in the process. Jeremy's head snapped back up at the sound. "And equally devastating," Banner said, before falling off his seat.

The bell then rung, at which Jaden woke up from his nap. "Morning guys," he said, stretching out his arms. "Learn anything good today?"

"We sure did," Syrus answered. "To duck."

Banner got up to his feet. "Oh, I almost forgot. I'm, uhh… planning a… little field trip."

"Great. To where?" Jaden asked. "Circus? Carnival?"

"Even better. We're taking a ten mile hike. All the way to the excavated ruins, where we'll be taking geologic core samples. It will be Saturday at seven am. Don't be late."

* * *

Fast forward through until Saturday morning, and the four Slifer boys found themselves in front of the school with Professor Banner, ready for the field trip. They were also accompanied by Alexis and Christine, each one of them with a backpack at hand. "Only four?" Banner wondered ."Where is everyone else?"

"They're probably sleeping, Professor Banner," Syrus suggested. "You know? In their nice warm beds, with their nice comfy pillows."

"Just like I would be doing if Banner didn't threaten us with detention is we didn't show up," Chumley mumbled. "It's seven in the morning. I need my beauty sleep."

"I'll tell you what the secret to getting up early is," Jaden started. "Staying up all night long."

"Or, staying up all night long and eating candy loaded with sugar." Christine looked at Jeremy and raised an eyebrow in question. "Eh, I used to do that sometimes at Halloween when I was younger. Drove my mom nuts."

"To tell the truth, I could hardly sleep either," Alexis said. "These ruins we're going to, supposedly, they used to host the shadow games."

"That's sweet," Jaden commented. "Maybe you'll find some clues there to help you find your brother."

"Yeah, that's kind of what I'm hoping for."

"Now, we must be careful as we approach the ruins," Banner spoke. "Inside, is an ancient tomb."

'A tomb?' Syrus thought to himself, remembering what he'd overheard. "Jaden, Jeremy, I need to talk to your guys for a second. He lead them a little away from Banner and whispered in a low tone. "I think Banner wants to bury you guys. He was talking about that tomb, and you two in it."

"What? Just for falling asleep in class?" Jaden asked. "Does the school board know about this?"

"Guys, I heard him say it last night."

"Umm, Syrus? Did you have chilli sauce and ice cream last night before going off to bed?" Jeremy wondered. "Cause this is starting to sound like one of those nightmares."

"Okay everyone, let's go." The student then started to follow Banner.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

The six students and Banner trekked on uneven land, climbed slopes, went across a river by crawling on an old log, walked through woods and other such trials. While most of them concentrated more on getting to their destination, Chumley found the time to complain repeatedly.

"Are we almost there?"

"My feet really hurt."

"Can we take a bathroom break or something?"

"I hate climbing."

"I hate crawling."

"I hate hiking."

"Are we there yet?"

"I'm hungry."

"Well, Chumley, I saw some red berries a while ago," Banner said in response. "You could… Oh look, we're finally here. Isn't it just amazing?" They took note of their surroundings. They were in a cleared area with structures of stone ahead of them, one being an arch, though it was missing part of the middle.

The six students looked at them with awe. "They look all ruined," Jaden said.

"Hence the word ruins," Alexis pointed out.

"It's beautiful," Banner exclaimed. He went on about the structures around them, talking excitedly about their names and purposes.

"He really seems excited to see some rocks," Syrus commented.

"Well I'm excited so sit down."

"And while we're at it, why don't we chow down?" Jaden suggested.

"I don't see why not," Banner said. "And then, we'll hit a few cenotaphs, some carotids, a couple sarcophaguses, or is it sarcophagi? No matter, time to eat." He sat down and reached into his bag, while his students dug into theirs. "I just love pizza."

"Huh? You get pizza while we're stuck with… whatever it is I'm holding?" Jaden asked, holding out a couple of pieces of wrapped up food he picked from his backpack.

"I'm your teacher. I need a big meal to, uhh… teach you all." He rummaged in his pack for his food. "That's funny, I don't remember putting a fur topping on my pizza." He pulled out his cat, who had crumbs on his face. "Pharaoh! You were supposed to stay at home! Not hitch a ride and eat my lunch!"

"Pity you, professor," Christine said as she bit into a food ball.

"Maybe, you could share your lunch with me?" he asked hopefully.

"Sorry," Jaden responded. "We're your students, we need these to learn."

Jeremy and Syrus stuck out their tongues at him.

"Like learn you weren't gonna share," Chumley added.

"But of course I was going to share."

"Share what?" Alexis asked. "Pepperoni breath all day?"

"Look, I have mints. Would anyone like a mint? See, I'm sharing." They looked at Pharaoh, who was pawing at the ground, when they saw a burst of green light. Pillars of green light suddenly started erupting around them.

"What's going on?" Syrus wondered.

The light then surrounded the students and teacher, causing them to cover their eyes. When it dimmed down, where the sun should have been, there were three balls of light. That, and the sky had changed to a strange rainbow like color. "Is anyone else seeing in triplicate?" Banner asked.

"Whoa! This is the most lishus field trip ever."

"Wow! That's cool!" Syrus commented.

Shien's Footsoldier and Winged Kuriboh appeared beside their respective duelists. "_Coo!_"

"_There's something bad coming over here._"

"What're you talking about, buddy?"

"_Coo!_"

"What? You're saying we should run? But it looks so cool." A flash like lightning streaked through the sky.

"Quick, children, head for cover." They all started to run away from the lightning flashed. "We'll find safety over in that sepelcur."

"The what?"

"The thing with the hole in it." Syrus, Chumley, Christine, Alexis and Banner ducked into an alcove. However, Jaden and Jeremy stayed back, observing the storm.

"That thing looks like it's following me and you," Jeremy noted.

"Come on," Syrus motioned for them to get in.

"You must hurry," Banner added.

"You guys stay in there," Jaden said. "We'll lead this storm away from you." The two boys began to run in the direction opposite of their friends.

"Jaden," Alexis called.

"Jeremy," Christine cried out.

"Where're they going?" Chumley asked.

"They're going nuts," Syrus filled in.

Jaden and Jeremy ran as fast as they could, the strange light following them. They made it some distance away, before it caught up, and then they lost consciousness.

* * *

When Jaden came to his senses, he was lying on the ground. He got up to a sitting position and saw the huge pyramid like building in front of them. "Whoa! We must have taken a wrong turn." He shook Jeremy a little, and his friend got up and his eyes widened when he saw the building.

"Jeepers, where did that thing come from?"

"It sure beats me."

"_You may want to take a look behind you,_" Jeremy's spirit partner said.

"_Coo!_"

They took their duel spirits' suggestion, got up and looked behind them. They saw the arch they'd seen before, except that it was complete, with twin stone serpents on the top, and no longer in its previously battered condition. "What's that?" Jaden asked.

"I think it's the entrance to the ruins," Jeremy guessed.

"But then, how come it isn't ruined anymore? I must be in some wicked crazy dream."

"Then I'm dreaming the same thing."

"Too bad someone can't just pinch my cheek so I can wake up, huh?" Winged Kuriboh hovered close to Jaden's head and pinched his cheek with his little claws. Shien's Footsoldier jumped up onto Jeremy's shoulder and smacked him in the back of the head with his spear's handle.

"Hey! Jaden said pinch, not whack!" Jeremy said to his spirit.

"Ow! You sharpen those claws? How bout a manicure once in a while? And while I'm at it Kuriboh, since when can I feel you?" He reached out and held his duel spirit in his hands. "Whoa! This is a first."

Jeremy patted his own duel spirit on the head, feeling that he was solid. "Crazy," he muttered. "It's just like in the duel against that shadow duelist woman."

They heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and turned in the direction it came from. Standing nearby, was a young black haired woman wearing a strange golden headband and a pair of emerald earrings. She wore a blue short dress, as well as open black robes that dropped to her ankles. "This is sacred ground. You must leave immediately. You are both in very grave danger."

"Umm, and why exactly are we in danger?" Jeremy asked.

The woman turned at the sound of footsteps coming towards them. She ran to the two boys and held them against the stairs, where anyone walking on them wouldn't see. "Hey!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Quiet," she hissed. "Or do you wish to share the others' fate?"

"What others?" She clamped her hands over their mouths to force them to remain quiet. They were just able to catch a glimpse of a bunch of spear wielding men walk by on the stairs. They wore purple garments with black robes and had their heads covered but their faces open. "They dress weirder than Dr. Crowler," Jaden commented when they were gone. "What's going on here?"

"And by the way," Jeremy spoke up. "What do you mean by, 'the others' fate'? And who are they?"

"I speak of the strangers who share your dress. They have been taken by the gravekeeper chief and will be punished for entering his most sacred tomb."

"Punished?" Jaden asked. "No way! Not on my watch they won't, lady!"

"Nor mine," Jeremy added.

"Take us to em, right now!"

The woman looked at the two boys for a moment, before choosing to accept their request. "So be it." She gave each of them their bags which they slung around their back. "You were warned. Now follow me." Both Slifer students started following the strange woman as she began leading them away. "Tell me, strangers, by which means did you arrive here?"

"The name's Jaden."

"Mine's Jeremy. About your question, I don't think either of us have even the slightest clue how we got here."

"No kidding. We don't even know where 'here' is. But with three suns glowing like that, it's probably a place you could get a great tan."

* * *

She led them on a path on which they crossed no other people like the spearmen from before, or any other people at all. They arrived at a small empty chamber with three window spaces on the wall across from the doorway. "Both of you will wait here," she instructed them.

"No we won't," Jaden said. "What about our friends?"

"I will find them. Four have been taken one place, but the fifth was moved elsewhere at the sage's request. The one with blue hair in a braid."

"Christine," Jeremy realized. "Why?"

"I do not know. But you would do well to remain here with your friend. If either of you are found walking about, you'll be of no use to any of them. I'll be back."

"Fine then." She turned around and left them to sit down and wait.

* * *

The two boys did just that, sitting down against the wall in silence, while waiting for the mysterious woman to return. "What's taking so long?" Jaden asked after a while. "Is she ever gonna come back?"

"Hell if I know," Jeremy responded. "She's been gone for too long if you ask me."

"Wait a sec, what if she's working with this gravekeeper chief?"

"That's a scary thought. Especially since that'd mean it's not just our friends that'd be in trouble, but us too."

"Someone, help us!" Alexis' voice reached their ears.

"That was Alexis!" Jaden realized. He and Jeremy jumped up to the open windows and held on. Looking down, they could see four coffins lying on the ground in the square space in the middle of the structure around them. And in those coffins, wrapped with bandages, were Syrus, Alexis, Chumley and Banner, along with his cat. "Oh no."

"What kind of crazy nutcase would do something like this?"

Both boys then felt themselves prodded in the rear by something sharp. "Get down from there," someone commanded in a low voice.

"Move towards the sharp object? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Now," the person repeated.

"Alright, alright. You ever hear of a handshake?" Jaden asked as he and Jeremy dropped down from their perches. They were greeted by a bunch of spearheads held rather close to their throats. "I guess not." Five men, just like the ones they'd come close to earlier, were holding the weapons aimed at them. Just behind them were two more, these ones bald, with their chests bared except for the open black robes they wore. Each of them held a weapon similar to a trident, except that the middle fork was twice as long as the other two. And behind them, stood two other men.

The first had dark eyes and hair, with a moustache running into his small beard and a stony face. He wore a light purple shirt, green pants, white robes with black at the ends, and had his head covered with a black covering on top of his head. The second was a blue eyed man with a face that spoke of great age, but also wisdom. His hair was long, pure white and dropped down loosely, just the same as his beard. He wore dark green robes that opened up below the waist and were adorned with silver threading at the bottom, cuffs and neck. Sewn at the left shoulder, was a strange blue circle, with a series of intersecting wavy lines and three red dots forming a triangle in the middle. In his left hand he held an ebony staff with elegant engravings and an emerald at the tip.

"Where's my manners? I'm Jaden Yuki," he said shakily.

"Yeah, and I'm Jeremy Wheeler. Umm, no offense, but you have a really weird way of saying hi."

"So… your names would be…?"

"You may call me Gandoulum," the older man answered in a soft, yet firm voice.

"I am the Gravekeeper Chief. And you have traversed upon the sacred tomb that I protect."

"Wait a moment," Jeremy spoke up. "Did you say Gravekeeper Chief? Then… you're the one who took our friends and had them put in those coffins. Where's Christine? What've you done with her?"

"She is suffering from a similar predicament at the moment," Gandoulum said. "Although she has been moved to a different place. Perhaps you would like to see her?"

"Yeah," Jeremy shot back. The old man snapped his fingers, and an image appeared in mid air, showing a large crypt like stone room with strange engravings all around. But was really caught their attention, was the coffin with Christine in it, wrapped with bandages as well. "Christine!" Gandoulum waved his hand and the image disappeared.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Jaden spoke up. "How about we go and grab all our friends out of their coffins, say our goodbyes to you, then zip back to the dimension we came from."

"That is not possible," the Gravekeeper Chief said.

"But why not?"

"Because, fools, you have tread upon my domain. And you will both be punished for it, along with your friends."

"Dude, you take trespassing WAY too seriously to be thinking like this," Jeremy commented.

"Come on, can't we just pay a fine or something?"

"You cannot."

"Oh yeah? Then you can point your spears at us." The spearmen held their weapons pressed against the two boys' throats.

"You show some spirit, strangers. I shall pardon your trespassing, given you can survive my challenge," he directed to Jaden. "What is your answer?"

"Well, what's the challenge?" The Chief held up a deck of duel monster cards. "A duel? Now you're speaking my language. You're on. But only if you pardon all of my friends along with me, deal?"

"So be it." The spearmen took their weapons away from their throats. "However, if your friend and the other girl are to be freed, he must win his own challenge." The white haired man snapped his fingers again, and a separate deck of cards appeared in it.

"You got it." Jeremy answered. "We'll see to it that everyone walks out of here safe and sound."

"That is, if you both win."

"For our friends, there's no if about it pal," Jaden said as he and Jeremy took their duel disks out of their backpacks. "We'll win."

"But if you don't, you will be punished. You will be buried alive."

"BURIED ALIVE!" They both cried out. "But then, who'll save our friends?"

"Fear not. They will be buried, along with you."

The two boys gulped at this. "Jaden, good luck."

"Same to you." They grasped the other's hand and gave a pat on the back. "Now let's go save our friends." They were led out of the room and Jaden was made to follow the Gravekeeper in one direction, while Gandoulum walked behind Jeremy, pushing him in another.

* * *

Jaden now stood at the top of the structure surrounding the pit where his friends and Banner were. He and the Gravekeeper Chief were standing on little extensions that stuck out from opposite walls. "Good luck Jaden," Banner said. "We're all rooting for you. Very, very much so."

"Jaden."

"Come on Jaden, save us."

"Don't worry, you'll all be fine, as long as I beat this guy. Alright, get your game on!"

Chief: 4000

Jaden: 4000

The two duelists drew their starting hands, the Chief picking up another. "Get my game on? What do you speak of?"

"Sheesh. It's a figure of speech. You know? Like slang."

"It's like slang? How dare you speak to in with a rotten tongue of a filthy serpent? And play a monster face-down, in defense mode, thus ending my turn."

"And starting mine."

"_Coo!_" Kuriboh said as he appeared next to Jaden.

"Hey, Winged Kuriboh. Good to see you bud. Now watch this. I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman." The blue armored water hero stood tall in front of the Slifer. (800) "And he's got some pop. Cause if I summon him when there's nothing else out, I'm allowed to draw two more cards from my deck." Jaden drew and got Avian and Burstinatrix. "Sweetness." 'With these two waiting in the wings, it's just a matter of time before the wingman shows up.' "Next I'll throw down a face-down and end my turn."

"Gravekeeper Spear Soldier, arise." A man like the one's Jaden and Jeremy had first seen appeared before the Chief. (1500) "I hope your Bubbleman's draw gave you two very good cards. Because already he's outmatched in battle. And he is soon to be outnumbered as well."

"Uh oh."

"I now summon, in attack mode, Gravekeeper's Guard." The face-down monster flipped up, revealing one of the bald trident wielding men. (1000) "And his effect, let's me return a monster that's out to its owner's hand. And the monster I choose, is Bubbleman." Pulsing red light extended from the guard and struck Jaden's hero.

"Ooo, red."

"That's not a good thing, Chum," Syrus pointed out.

"He's back?" Jaden said as his monster appeared on his hand.

"And now that you are unguarded, I'll attack you directly. Gravekeeper's Guard, Blazing Blade Strike." The named monster charged at the exposed Slifer and swung his weapon at him in a downward arc, before leaping back to his side of the field.

Jaden: 4000-3000

Jaden held his shoulder in pain. "I felt that. This is real."

"Hello, no joke it's real!" Banner said when the coffins closed partway.

"And now, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, attack with Lunging Spear Assault." The spearman dashed forward and stabbed at his Chief's opponent, who cringed in pain when struck.

Jaden: 3000-1500

"Okay, I think I'm getting it now. This duel isn't just about life-points, it's about my life."

"Yes, and theirs." The four coffin's lids slid over the three students and Banner a bit more.

"I'm claustrophobic, for real!" Syrus said.

"So am I, if it'll get me out of here," Chumley added.

"It's my turn. And I play, the spell card, Polymerization. Avian and Burstinatrix combine to create, the Flame Wingman." The two named heroes disappeared into the fusion vortex and came out as Jaden's headliner. (2100) "So, did Bubbleman give me two very good cards, well, see for yourself. Because, from both of them, came him. And this next attack." Flame Wingman shot a blast of fire from its dragon arm and blew away the Spear Soldier.

Chief: 4000-3400

"Don't even think you're out of the fire yet. Cause for every attack points that Spear Soldier had, you now take damage for." Jaden's wingman shot another blast of fire and struck the Gravekeeper Chief head on.

Chief: 3400-1900

"Next, I'm gonna summon on up Wroughtweiler in defense mode." The metal dog crouched down beside the red and green hero. (1200) "And that'll do it."

"Nice job Jaden," Chumley said.

"Way to play, Jay."

"If we're gonna make it through this thing, Sy, it's the only way he can play," Alexis noted. "Because if he makes even a couple more mistakes, we're through."

"Alright, make your move. Cause the quicker I can win this thing, the quicker I can get my friends back."

"Or the quicker they'll be sent to their doom. I change my Gravekeeper's Guard to defense mode." The named monster went down on one knee. (1900) "And then I'll place a face-down monster in defense mode."

"Guess you don't know rule number one in duel monsters. A good defense is a sweet offense. And who better to teach you that than Flame Wingman. Now, attack. Infernal Rage." The powerful hero shot a blast of fire from its dragon arm, destroying the guard. The flames went on to burn away his owner's life-points.

Chief: 1900-900

"I end my turn."

"I activate Pot of Greed, so I can draw two cards from my deck. Now, I shall summon, Gravekeeper's Assailant in attack mode." A woman wearing a short dress, black open robe and holding a serpentine dagge in one hand appeared on the Chief's field. A hood and mask did the job of hiding all of her face, expect for the eyes. (1500) "And she will be joined by the mysticism of Gravekeeper's Curse." The face-down monster flipped up, showing a man dressed in long dark robes with pieces of golden jewellery around his head. He also held a thin blue and yellow staff with a circular tip. (800) "Now I activate his effect, which will deal to you 500 points of damage." The monster in question raised his staff and was surrounded by a yellow aura. Jaden was then subjected to a shrill noise around him.

"It's worst than Chum's snoring."

Jaden: 1500-1000

The four coffins closed a little bit more as a result of the drop in life-points. "You gotta do better than that.

"Very well then. Perhaps this card will suffice." He held up a spell with the showing a canyon with tall stone walls. "I cast, Necrovalley." Their entire surroundings changed from the restored ruins to reflect the image on the card. Vast stone spires rose from the ground, the two duelists now standing on tall rock columns. A layer of mist blanketed the ground below, apart from the area where Jaden's friends were trapped.

"Uhhh, not good."

"As long as this card remains on the field, my Gravekeepers all gain 500 attack and defense points." (800-1300/800-1300) (1500-2000/1500-2000) "Gravekeeper's Assailant, attack Flame Wingman."

"What, you got sand in your eyes or something? Can't you see Wingman still has more power? Unless you got some sort of-"

"Special ability? Yes, the Assailant does, actually. And it allows her to change the battle mode of your wingman from attack, to defense." The woman's eyes glowed white and she was surrounded by a purple aura. Jaden's wingman was surrounded by an aura of the same color, then forced to kneel down. (1200)

"Oh man."

"The best has yet to come. Destroy him." Gravekeeper's Assailant leapt in the air and landed behind Flame Wingman. Her dagger extended into a sword, which she then used to strike down her opponent. "And now, my Gravekeeper's Curse will destroy that cur." The named monster raised his staff and glowed yellow. Wroughtweiler did as well, before exploding in a shower of pixels.

"Whoopsie! I guess you didn't know his special ability. When Wroughtweiler's destroyed, I get two cards back from the graveyard. An elemental hero and Polymerization."

"You have the wisdom of dirt. Necrovalley negates that effect."

"Huh?"

"Any spell, trap or monster effect involving the graveyard, is completely useless. Just as you have proven to be in your attempts to rescue your friends. Don't you see? Both you and your card are futile here."

"No, I refuse to believe it," Alexis said. "I know Jaden can find a way."

"I hope so," Chumley muttered.

"Oh no! It's no use, we're done for!"

"That's not true, Professor Banner," Syrus spoke. "Jay's still winning. Just look at the life-points."

"Forget the life-points. Look at the field. Jaden has no monsters out. And the Gravekeeper's Chief has two."

'How did this happen? We set out looking for ruins, and suddenly, we're about to become some. This is no joke. If I don't get my game on, we're gonna be long gone.'

"Fret not, you won't hear your friends screams, when they're muffled by the buried earth."

"Alright, now let's finish this."

"_Coo!_" Jaden looked at his card and saw that it was Winged Kuriboh.

"I should've known," he said to his duel spirit. "You're always around to watch my back. Or in this case, to guard my front. Winged Kuriboh, I'm summoning you in defense mode." The furry spirit flew down to Jaden's field. (200) "Hang on guys, I'll get you outta there. Your move."

"How fitting. The blind lead the blind and the weak protect the weak. Hiding behind that Kuriboh may be your idea of defense, but in my world, rodents like that are for pounding, not protection."

"He's no rodent. He's one of my very best friends." 'And you're about to see why.'

"Well, with friends like you, he needs no enemies. After all, you've just thrown him to the wolves." The assailant prepared herself to leap.

"Wrong! Cause I got a spell card out. Transcendent Wings. By giving up two cards from my hand, Winged Kuriboh evolves all the way to level 10." The furry monster glowed with a bright blue light as he began to change.

"As foolhardy as it was predictable. Brainless cur, I knew that you would play that."

"Huh?"

"Which is why, I have this ready. Feast your eyes. The power of Gravekeeper's Watcher." A man wearing black and white clothes similar to the Chief appeared. He floated over to Jaden's field and gripped Kuriboh's Wings, preventing from growing more.

"What the-? Hey, what's going on?"

"Fool, the same thing that's been happening this whole duel. You're losing. By sending Watcher to the graveyard, I can negate your level up." Kuriboh was forced back to his original form as a result of the card's effect. "And since I have, I'll now wage an attack. Stealth Slice Strike." The Assailant's weapon changed into a sword again and she lunged at the furry monster, destroying him with one swing.

"Sorry Winged Kuriboh. You took one for the team there. Thanks pal."

"Good thing Winged Kuriboh was there."

"You can say that again Sy," Chumley said. "Now Jaden won't take any damage for the rest of the turn since he was just destroyed."

"That's true," Alexis agreed. "We just have to worry about next turn. Because now Jaden doesn't have any monsters out."

"Let's see… I've countered your move, I've destroyed your rodent. There's not much left to do but place a face-down."

"Hey, enough! Winged Kuriboh's no rodent!"

"Would you prefer vermin? Or perhaps rat?"

"That's it! My draw! First, I'm activating Pot of Greed, so I can draw two more cards. And now, I'll play one. Dark Catapulter." The humanoid machine with a long neck kneeled down in front of Jaden. (1500) "To follow that up, I play Mirage of Nightmare. And I'm gonna throw down three face-downs." 'Okay, that should do it. And set me up perfectly to win this match.' "I end my turn."

"Very well, my draw."

"And my chance to activate that Mirage spell. During your standby phase, it lets me draw until I have four cards in my hand. Sweet!" he exclaimed when he saw his cards.

"Sweet? Does that wretched slang mean you've drawn some good cards? Well don't be so sure. You don't know what is good because you don't know what you're up against."

'I don't like the sound of this.

"I now sacrifice Gravekeeper's Curse, to summon myself!"

"Summon yourself!"

The staff wielding monster was enveloped in light, as well as his duelist. When it died down, the Chief was standing on the field. (1900) "Due to Necrovalley's effect, I gain 500 attack points." (1900-2400) "And as long as I'm on the field, my graveyard's not affected by Necrovalley. Meaning I can use spells, traps and monster effects on any monsters laid to rest there. And that's not all. I also get to summon back one Gravekeeper from my graveyard."

"No way!"

"Rise, Gravekeeper Spear Soldier." The spearman rose next to his chief. (1500-2000) "Now I'll play, the trap, known as Rite of Spirit. This lets me summon yet another Graveekeeper. And I choose, Gravekeeper's Curse." The named monster returned to the field again. (800-1300) "And since he was summoned, you lose another 500 life-points." Jaden cried out as he felt the worst side of the effect.

Jaden: 1000-500

"Behold, the power of the shadow game."

"Shadow game? Is that what this is?"

"Yes. And the game's almost over. For you, your life-points and your friends." The coffins' lids got ever closer to being fully closed.

"Come on, Jaden," he tried to motivate himself. "You've gotta get your game on. You've gotta get in on for your friends. They're all counting on you. And I won't let them down. Especially when down means six feet under in an old sarcophagus. No way no how! They're coming home!"

"Yes, their eternal home! Assailant attack!" The woman's dagger changed into a sword and she leapt in the air at Jaden's monster. "And she will easily destroy that Catapulter, expecially since her special effect has just changed it to attack mode." The mechanical monster rose to its feet. (1000) The woman almost seemed to hesitate as she drew nearer. "Face it, you've lost!"

"I don't think so! Go, Emergency Provisions. By sending two spell or trap cards on my field to the graveyard, I regain 2000 life-points."

Jaden: 500-2500

"Curse you! But Assailant's attack still cuts through. Go, Stealth Slice Strike." She cut across her opponent with her blade, causing it to explode.

Jaden: 2500-1500

"You should have attacked faster," the Chief commanded as she returned to his field. She simply looked down at this.

"Hey, it's nor her fault you messed up," Jaden said. "It's yours."

"Shut your mouth! Better yet, I'll just shut it for you. After all, do not forget that I still have an attack." Red energy began to gather in the palm of his hand. "And now I, will use it!" He let loose a stream of red power.

"Oh no you don't! Go trap card, Draining Shield." A green dome appeared around Jaden, blocking the incoming attack.

"You can't!"

"I can, and I did. Your attack's cancelled out, but there's more. I also gain life-points equal to your attack points. Pretty sweet, huh?"

Jaden: 1500-3900

"Fool! So you blocked one attack. But still, I have another. Go, Spear Soldier!" The spear wielding man charged and stabbed at Jaden with his weapon, knocking him down on his back in the process.

Jaden: 3900-1900

"And now, Gravekeeper's Curse attacks, with Doomsday Purge." The named monster was surrounded by a yellow aura, which then spread to Jaden, causing him to cry out in pain, in addition to taking down his life-points.

Jaden: 1900-600

The coffins closed up more, leaving but a slight opening. Jaden got to his hands and knees, breathing hard. "You're proving to be even less of a challenge than I thought," his opponent commented. "Come now, fight back. This is barely fun anymore."

He then realized that Jaden was actually laughing. "Really, cause I'm having a blast."

"Your friends' lives hang by but a thread and you say that you are having a blast?"

"You got that right!" Jaden said as he got to his feet, dusting himself off. "Cause no thread's about to be cut. I'm just one turn away from winning this duel."

"You are wrong. And once you see what I'm about to play, you will see why. Go, Royal Tribute. It's a spell, that I can activate so long as I have Necrovalley on my field. Now we discard all monsters in our hand, to the graveyard."

All but one of Jaden's cards were then forced out of his hand. "Not good!"

"No, it's not. Well, it's not for you. Because whatever monsters you were planning to win with-"

"Are gone." 'And the only cards I have left is the Warrior Returning Alive, which I can't even use cause of Necrovalley. It all comes down to this. With no monsters out, if I'm gonna save my friends, I need to draw something big right now.' "Alright, here goes something." Jaden drew, and got Bladedge. 'Sweet! Elemental Hero Bladedge, one of my most powerful monsters.'

The Chief laughed a little a Jaden. "Drawn a good monster, have you? Shame you have nothing to sacrifice so you can summon it."

'He's right. If I'm gonna summon out Bladedge, I'd need to trade two monsters for him. Wait a second…' "But then again, on second thought, maybe I don't need any. All I need is one of the monsters in my graveyard."

"Please, Necrovalley negates any effect aimed at the graveyard."

"That may be, but not the effects coming out of the graveyard."

"What?"

"Don't what me. You know exactly what I mean. If my monsters have an effect that activates in the graveyard, I can use em. You see, playing Royal Tribute might have helped you out back then, but it'll hurt you now. Because one of the monsters I discarded, was a certain Elemental Hero known as Necroshade." A transparent version of a red skinned voodoo monster with bone shoulder guards appeared in front of Jaden. "And he allows me to summon an elemental hero without any sacrifices once per turn. And one time is all I need. Because the monster I'm gonna bring out, is the Elemental Hero Bladedge." The transparent hero made way for the golden armored one. (2600)

"No!" the Chief exclaimed upon seeing him.

"Now Bladedge, attack Gravekeeper's Curse with Slice n Dice attack." The powerful warrior dived at his weakest enemy, taking him out with a swing of his arm.

Chief: 900-0

"That's game." The holograms then faded and the scenery returned to normal.

"Chief!" The assailant called out and she and the other gravekeepers ran to him.

"Hey, is he alright?" Jaden ran over to see for himself. The real life Gravekeeper's Curse, Guard and Spear Soldier blocked his path.

"No, he lives. He was an impressive opponent."

"Thanks, some of your moves were pretty tight too there. We should duel again sometime."

"What? You mean to say you enjoyed the shadow game?"

"Totally. Of course, the friends in the coffin thing wasn't my favourite part, but it was fun. And you three guys… very scary. Very tough. And you too," he directed towards the assailant. "You all fought great."

"Only one other person has ever passed this challenge. That is, until now. For having overcome your trials, I give to you this mystic medallion." He took a half of a medallion from around his neck. It had unusual designs on it and a small red ruby in the middle. "It is yours."

"Really? For me?" He took it and noticed that it wasn't whole. "Some gift. There's only half."

"But of course. You see, the only other to have passed this challenge holds the other half. Hopefully when the time comes for you to battle in another shadow game, this medallion will serve you well."

"Sweetness. I'll be sure to remember that." He placed it around his own neck and let it drop over his shirt.

The Gravekeeper Chief turned around and pointed his hand towards the four coffins below. They then opened up, letting the sun shine on those inside. "We're free!" Syrus called out gleefully.

"Whoa! Turn down the lights.

"I love light," Banner stated. "Light is my friend!"

"Wow, Jaden. You saved us," Alexis said, gratefully. All their bandages then dissolved, freeing them.

"So… what now?" Jaden asked.

"All that remains is to wait for the result of your friend's duel."

"Oh right. No worries though, he'll pull though. I'm sure of it."

* * *

Okay, if you don't mind reviewing, then please do so. And I know the duel was the same as the one in the show, but don't worry, Jeremy's duel will make up for that.

**Next chapter: **Jaden's won his duel, but now Jeremy has to duel to save Christine. And his opponent's armed with a set of monsters that no one's ever heard of.


	33. Buried Alive? Let's Hope Not! Part 2

**Buried Alive? Let's Hope Not! – Part 2**

Jeremy walked in silence, the old man behind prodding him along and telling him which path to navigate. They went lower and lower, until they reached a doorway leading back into the large stone structure. "Enter here." Jeremy did so and came into a darkened corridor, periodically lit by torches. After a bit, they reached a set of stairs which twisted downward. They walked for what seemed to be a rather long time, but after a while, they reached another corridor, this one which hit a dead end.

"This is a dead end," Jeremy noted. "Where's Christine?"

"She is beyond here." The old man passed by him and placed his hand against the middle of the wall in front of them. It rumbled a bit, then rose until they could pass through. Inside, it was the room which Jeremy had been shown. It was lit by numerous blazing torches and candles, yet still retained an eerie crypt like touch. The walls, floor and ceiling were marked with strange engravings, showing images of soldiers, pharaohs, magicians, great cities and many other such things.

"Where is she?"Jeremy demanded again.

"Stand there," he indicated a plain circular area a few meters wide on one end of the room. Jeremy did so as the old man stood on different one at the other end. He then tapped the bottom of his staff three times against the floor, at which the room began to shake a little. The floor directly underneath each of them rose up, leaving the two opponents standing on opposite platforms. At the same time as this happened, the doorway closed up again and an indent in the opposite wall opened up, revealing the coffin in which the blue haired girl was trapped.

"Christine!"

"Jeremy! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry, I'll get you out of there as soon as I beat this guy."

"What about the others? What happened to them?"

"They got stuck in the same situation. But Jaden's gonna take care of getting them free."

"Now then, shall we begin?" His staff changed into a black duel disk shaped similarly to the academy's, with a few emerald streaks. Jeremy activated his own duel disk in response.

"Let's do this!"

Gandoulum: 4000

Jeremy: 4000

Jeremy drew five cards while Gandoulum drew six. "To begin with, I activate the field spell, Castle of the Dark Prince." Their surroundings changed, so that they were standing in a castle courtyard, though still separated in the same manner as before and Christine was trapped in the coffin. It was a tall, majestic and imposing stone castle with the same emblem on its walls as the one on Gandoulum's robes. The stones were all half white and half black.

"Whoa," Jeremy exclaimed in awe.

"As long as this card is in play, when I have no monsters on my field, I can summon a Dark Magic monster from my hand, so long as it's level four or less."

"Wait a sec," Jeremy interrupted. "Dark Magic monster? I've never heard of that. What kind of cards are you talking about?"

"You'll see. Now, I will use the castle's effect to summon Dark Magic Trumpeter in defense mode." An average height man, with dark brown hair cut short, kneeled down in front of the Gandoulum. He wore a beige long sleeve shirt with the same emblem as the castle's on the right side of his chest, pants of the same color, a light orange vest and a light brown belt around his waist. He carried a short simple silver trumpet in one hand. (1000) "And I still can normal summon Dark Magic Healer." The next monster was a woman with smooth black hair that reached her mid back. The strange emblem was on the right side of the chest of her long blue and white dress. She had green eyes, was elegant and also very beautiful. (1800)

"Another one? Wow, I've never seen monsters like this before."

"Indeed you haven't. Now, thanks to my healer's special ability, by not attacking, she grants me 500 additional life-points for every spellcaster type monster I control. But that doesn't matter, since it's my first turn. And with two on the field, I gain 1000 life-points." The female monster clapped her hands together, at which a white aura surrounded Gandoulum.

Gandoulum: 4000-5000

"That is all for this turn."

"My turn then. I play Six Samurai United. This gets a bushido counter for every six samurai monster I summon. Now meet, The Six Samurai Nisashi." Jeremy's green armored samurai stood tall before him. (1400) "And I'm equipping him with Sword of Deep Seated, giving him a new weapon and 500 more attack points." Nisashi's twin swords changed into the black and purple blade. (1400-1900) "Now attack his healer." The warrior charged across the field and struck down the female spellcaster.

Gandoulum: 5000-4900

"I'll throw this down and end my turn."

"Very well then. I play the spell card, Dark Magical Reunion. With this, I select one card I have in play. Then, if I have one or more cards with the same name in my deck and graveyard, I am allowed to play them. Provided I remove two of the same type of cards from my deck. Now I'll simply remove two monsters, to summon my other Trumpeters in attack mode." Two copies of the first monster appeared, standing up. (1000) x2 "Now I'll switch the remaining one to attack mode." His defending monster got up like the others. (1000) "And I activate Allied Forces."

"Hey, what's up with that? Allied Forces only increases the attack points of warrior types. Your monsters are all spellcasters."

"Seeing how little you know, allow me to explain, as I summon Dark Magic Soldier." The three trumpeters were joined by a brown eyed man wearing an open faced gray helmet, light breastplate with the same emblem engraved on it, gauntlets, leggings and boots. He held a silvery metal spear as tall as himself in his right hand with a few magic sparks floating around it. (1300) "As long as this card is in play, all my spellcaster type monsters are also treated as warriors and all warriors as spellcasters. Meaning, they all gain 800 attack points from the effect of my spell card." The trumpeters were then covered in the same kind of armor as the soldier. (1300-2100) (1000-1800) x3 "Also, if I have another warrior or spellcaster monster face-up, you can't attack him. Soldier, destroy his monster with Magic Spear Blast." The magical warrior thrust his spear forward, shooting a blast of silver lightning at Nisashi.

"Now so fast. I send Shadow of the Six Samurai to the graveyard. My monster may still be destroyed, but thanks to Shadow's effect, I take no damage for the rest of the turn." The lightning struck Nisashi and went on towards the Slifer duelist, but he was shielded by the shadowy warrior. "I'm also activating my trap, Transmigration Prophecy. So I'll take my Sword of Deep Seated, as well as Shadow of the Six Samurai and return them to my deck. Now my sword won't end up on the top."

"Come on, Jeremy," Christine said. "You can turn this thing around."

"No worries, cause that's just what I'm gonna do."

"Is it now? Very well then, let's see it happen."

"Ask and you shall receive. First, I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards. Then I activate Monster Reborn and bring back Nisashi." The named warrior returned to Jeremy's field. (1400) "And to join him, I'll bring out The Six Samurai Kamon." The green samurai was joined by his fiery counterpart. (1500) "Since they're both out, instead of attacking, Kamon's allowed to destroy one of your face-up magic or trap cards." He lit up a stick of dynamite and hurled it at the named spell card, blowing it to pieces and causing Gandoulum's monsters' attack points to drop. (2100-1300) (1800-1000) x3 "And to make up for that, Nisashi's effect let's him attack twice per turn since he's with another samurai." Nisashi unsheathed his glowing green blades and dashed at the trumpeters, slicing a sword across one, then another.

Gandoulum: 4900-4100

"I'll finish up with one face-down."

"Nice moves," Christine commented. "Just keep it up."

"I activate my own Monster Reborn and resurrect a Dark Magic Trumpeter." The named monster returned with his compatriot. (1000) "Then I play Dark Magical Grave. By simply removing a spell or trap from my graveyard, this card gains the effect of the one I removed. Therefore by taking away Monster Reborn, I can bring back yet another Trumpeter." The third reappeared beside the others. (1000)

"Just great," Jeremy said sarcastically. "They're all back."

'That's strange,' Christine thought to herself. 'Why didn't he bring back his healer? He could have either attacked and destroyed one of Jeremy's samurais, or used her effect to increase his life-points by at least 1500.'

"Now for the matter of their special ability. When all of them are face-up on my field and in the same battle mode, by sending them to the graveyard, I can return all monster, magic or trap cards that are in my grave and removed from play, back into my deck. And as a bonus, I get to draw one card for every pair I returned. And I choose my monster cards." Gandoulum shuffled his cards and drew, smiling at what he held. "Now meet, the Dark Magic Enchanter." A young boy with blue eyes, pale skin and inch long, light red hair appeared next to the magic soldier. He wore dark green robes with the emblem sewn on the left shoulder and looked like a younger version of Gandoulum. As had happened to the others before him, his apparel changed so that he was dressed in armor. (1200) "Attack his green warrior." He held his hands up, in which black energy started to gather.

"That's crazy! My monster has more attack points than yours," Jeremy said. The boy then let loose the energy in his hands towards Nisashi, who simply sent it back to its originator with a smack of his hand.

Gandoulum: 4100-3900

"But mine has an effect that activates whenever he's destroyed in battle. The first thing I must do, is give up 500 life-points."

Gandoulum: 3900-3400

"Then I can summon the Dark Magic Sage from my deck. And this is a very special monster. Do you wish to know why?"

"Uhh, not really."

"I'll tell you anyway. It's me!" Gandoulum disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared on the field, with light armor over his robes. (2400)

"WHAT! You're a duel monster!"

"No way!" Christine exclaimed.

"Yes. And when I'm summoned by the enchanter's effect, I can destroy any two cards on your field that I wish to see gone. So you can bid goodbye to both your monsters." He snapped his fingers, and black energy suddenly exploded between Jeremy's two warriors, destroying them both. "Now I can attack you directly." Dark magical energy began to gather in the palm of his hand.

"I reveal my Nutrient Z trap card. Since I'm about to take over 2000 points of damage, this gives me an extra 4000 before your attack hits."

Jeremy: 4000-8000

"Regardless of that, my attack is still in play." He released the energy in his hand, which flew upwards. Jeremy then found himself being rained upon by drops of burning magic power.

Jeremy: 8000-5600

"Damn, that hurt," he said, feeling the effects of the attack. "It's just like last time it happened. This isn't just a regular duel, it's a shadow game."

"That is correct. And it's only going to get worse. Dark Magic Soldier, attack." The named monster charged forward, stabbing his spear at Jeremy, causing him further pain, along with decreasing his life-points.

Jeremy: 5600-4300

"I now end my turn."

"My turn then. I send Six Samurai United to the graveyard and draw three cards, since it has that many counters." Jeremy got rid of his spell and drew his cards. "Good. I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode." The elven swordsman stood tall against the two spellcasters, his sword drawn and cape flapping behind him. (1400) "I'll follow that up by placing two cards face-down and activating Mage Power. This gives my guardian a 500 attack and defense point boost, for every one of my spells and traps. With Mage Power and two face-downs, that's 1500." (1400-2900/1200-2700) "Take him down with Silver Blade Strike." Jeremy's guardian leapt in the air and came down towards the duel monster and duelist.

He simply watched this unfold with a confident smile on his face. When his enemy got close, he raised his free hand, and was surrounded by a shield of dark energy. The guardian's blade bounced off harmlessly, without having the slightest impact on it. "No way!" Christine exclaimed.

Jeremy was as shocked as his Obelisk friend, if not more. "But… My guardian had more than enough attack points to win that battle. How did survive?"

"It was all because of my other rather special effect. You see, whenever I'm attacked, by simply removing a spell card from my graveyard, I take no battle damage for the remainder of the turn. So I won't be going away just yet. You'll have to do much better than your pathetic performance so far."

"Grr… Guess I've got no choice but to end my turn."

"That must me the most intelligent thing you've said this entire duel."

"Just make your move already!" Jeremy snapped.

"Very well then, if you insist. I summon the Dark Magic Diviner." A woman with ruffled brown hair that fell down to just below her shoulder blades took her place on the field. She had a red headband around her forehead, wide round glasses which made her red eyes more obvious and held a crystal ball in her left hand. She wore loose gray and light blue robes with the emblem on the right side of her chest. Upon appearing, a breastplate materialized around her. (1600) "When she's summoned in any way possible, I can destroy one magic or trap for every Dark Magic monster I control."

"Not good!"

"Jeremy, be careful."

"So, with Soldier, myself and her, you can say goodbye to all your spells and traps." The smoke inside her crystal ball turned red like her eyes. Then Jeremy's three cards were surrounded by an aura of the same color, and shattered. "Of course, with them gone, so are your guardian's extra attack and defense points." (2900-1400/2700-1200) "Dark Magic Diviner, Crystal Shard Mayhem." The ball hovered above her hand, and broke apart into numerous splinters when she formed a fist. They remained in the air until she thrust her arm forward, at which they flew towards Jeremy's elven warrior, who was ultimately vanquished.

Jeremy: 4300-4100

"Go forth, Dark Magic Soldier." Again, the fighting spellcaster lunged at Jeremy and stabbed with his spear. He fell to one knee as a result, clutching his side.

Jeremy: 4100-2800

"And that's not all, with your life-points falling, your friend is paying the price." The coffin lid closed partway around Christine.

"No, Christine!"

"And I hope you didn't forget about me. Even if you did, this will remind you." He conjured another burning rain of magic which peppered Jeremy, dropping him to his hands and knees.

Jeremy: 2800-400

"Jeremy!" Christine managed to call out in a panicked tone. There only remained a small fraction of space before she would be completely sealed in. "Please!"

"Do you hear her plea for help? Don't worry, as soon as you lose, you won't hear it any longer, because she will be buried. And so will you."

"I… won't let that… happen," Jeremy said as he got to his feet. "I'll save you, Christine. No matter what it takes."

"How touching. I think I've inflicted enough punishment for now. Unless you would rather surrender."

"Never! You hear that? I won't give up!" As Jeremy placed his hand on his deck to draw, Shien's Footsoldier appeared next to him.

"_That's it, Jeremy_," the spirit encouraged him. "_Just keep faith._"

"Don't worry, buddy. The odds may be against me, but there's too much at stake for me to stop trying. Christine's counting on me to get her out of here safely. So there's just no way I'm giving up on her."

"_Good, now come on! Show him who's boss!_"

"You got it. Here goes! I activate Card of Sanctity. This forces both of us to draw until we each hold six cards in our hands. Then I discard a monster known as Shien's Advisor. Thanks to his effect, I can add Gateway of the Six to my hand. And now I'll play it." The dark gate rose behind Jeremy. "Next I'll place this face-down and throw Turn Jump into the mix. Since the duel jumps three turns ahead, I can activate my face-down, Double Edge Sword Technique. Its effect lets me bring back two six samurai monsters from the graveyard. And since my advisor is treated as one, I'll bring him back, along with Nisashi." Accompanying the green samurai, was a man in full body dark blue robes, with a black belt around his waist. He had a short simple katana at his hip and his black hair was tied into a top knot resting on the back of his head. (1400) (1700)

"You still can't defeat me."

"You'll see, cause when I summon a six samurai monster to the field, Gateway of the Six gains two bushido counters. And my advisor has another effect that places two more on any compatible card when he's brought out to the field. So my gateway gains a total of six bushido counters." Six glowing symbols appeared on the gate. "Then I summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and Great Shogun Shien." The old one eyed warrior appeared on the field, followed by the red armored samurai warlord. (2100) (2500) Two more symbols collected around the other six.

"You may have succeeded in summoning a monster stronger than me, but you won't be able to get rid of me that easily."

"I know, but by removing two counters from my gateway, one of my six samurai or shien effect monsters gains 500 attack points. So I'll remove three pairs to increase Nisashi's attack points by 1500, and the last two so my advisor gains 500." All the symbols faded away as the two named warriors were powered up. (1400-2900) (1700-2200) "Great Shogun Shien, attack." Jeremy's ace charged forward, though Gandoulum conjured a shield to block his sword. "Nisashi, Double Samurai Strike." The dual sword wielding samurai dashed at the persistent enemy, swinging one of his blades first, which was blocked, then cutting through with his second. The old man was forced off the field and back onto the platform.

Gandoulum: 3400-2900

"Advisor, destroy his Diviner." Jeremy's newest monster dashed at the female spellcaster, taking her out with a strike of his weapon.

Gandoulum: 2900-2300

"Grandmaster, your turn." The elderly warrior ran towards Gandoulum's remaining monster, stabbing his sword between the soldier's armor.

Gandoulum: 2300-1500

"I still have life-points left, you have almost none, you're out of monsters to attack with and you only have one card in your hand."

"That may be, but one card is all I need. Because it just so happens to be Cunning of the Six Samurai. This allows me sacrifice a six samurai monster I control and summon another one from either graveyard. So I'll say goodbye to my advisor, and bring back Kamon." Shien's advisor disappeared and was replaced by the brown armored samurai. (1500) "Now let's wrap this up with Crushing Explosion." Kamon lit a stick of dynamite and hurled it at Gandoulum, blowing away the rest of his life-points.

Gandoulum: 1500-0

"And there you have it," Jeremy said as the holograms faded away.

The smoke from the explosion cleared away, showing the sage fallen to one knee in defeat. "You have won, despite all odds."

"That's right, now Christine and I go free."

The old man got to his feet again. He took off his cards and duel disk, which then changed back into a staff. He tapped the ground again, then the floor returned to the state it was prior to the duel and the doorway opened up. Christine's coffin slid open, and the bandages wrapped around her dissolved. "Jeremy, you did it!" she cried out as she got away from her former prison. She ran towards her friend and wrapped her arms around him in a firm hug. "Thank you."

"Ummmm…" Jeremy blushed a little at how close they were, but then got over it and returned the embrace. "It's just great to have you back."

They separated when they heard the sage clearing his throat. They noticed that he was now accompanied by the healer and soldier. "You are a great duelist. You have earned both your freedoms beyond any doubt."

"Thanks. You're good too. Apart from all the shadow game stuff, this wasn't a bad duel." He nodded respectfully to Jeremy. They approached the two teenagers, and the woman clapped her hands and chanted a few words unknown to them. They felt a soothing sensation run through their bodies as a result. "There's more," Gandoulum spoke. "For having passed this challenge, I give to you the emblem which represents us. Here, it is the Dark Magical Medallion." He reached into the neck of his robes and pulled out a medallion which was the same as the emblem on him and all the other Dark Magic users.

Jeremy held out his hand and took the offered medallion. The moment that it touched his hand, one of the bottom red dots began to glow softly. "Wow," he said in awe. "Why's one of the lights glowing and not the other two? Is something broken?"

"No. The three pieces each symbolize a trial. The one glowing represents what you have just completed."

"Sooo… what's the other two then?" Jeremy asked as he placed the medallion around his neck

"They will be revealed to you in due time. Now come, I will guide you back to your other friends."

"_Good!_" Shien's Footsoldier spoke up. "_I think it's about time we left this place behind!_"

"Jeremy," Christine said uncertainly, only now noticing the monkey spirit. "Is that…?"

"Yep, this is my duel spirit, Shien's Footsoldier. I just call him buddy for short."

"_How do you do?_" he asked, tipping his hat to the Obelisk girl.

"Well enough. Now that I think about it, with everything that's happened so far, I can't really say this surprises me much."

"That's cool. Now let's get going."

* * *

The three Dark Magic users led them back through the path Jeremy had been taken before, though the healer left off to go elsewhere along the way and the spirit monster chose to retreat to his card. They were brought back to the place where Jaden and Jeremy had met the unnamed woman. They met up with Jaden, Syrus, Alexis, Chumley, Banner, Pharaoh, the Gravekeeper Chief, and the Assailant. Jaden and Jeremy quickly summed up what had happened after they'd parted. "How come you got a whole medallion and I only got a half?"

"Because, I'm cooler?"

"I knew you would both pass this test," Banner said. "I just knew it."

"Wait, wadda you mean, test?" Jaden asked. "Don't you mean challenge?"

"Yes, of course. I mean, test, challenge… it is all the same, am I right? All that matters is that you won. Isn't that right, guys?"

"Yeah…" Jeremy said slowly.

"Well then, it's time for all of you to return to your own world," the Chief spoke up.

"Sounds good to me," Jaden said. "So, how do we get back?"

"You must go to the gate of the tomb, just as the three lights combine into one, so that the veil of radiance appears before you," Gandoulum answered.

"Ooookaaayyy." Jaden and Jeremy were equally confused by this.

They then heard footsteps coming towards them, and saw that they belonged to a group of Gravekeeper Guards and Soldiers. "Fools! What are you doing?" their chief asked.

"They must punished," one of the soldiers answered. "Either by you, or by us."

"Punished! Punished." The armed men moved closer to the two boys.

"Stop! They have paid for their misdeeds. They have passed the challenge. Their freedom has been earned."

"Punished! Punished!"

They advanced further towards Jaden and Jeremy, but the Gravekeeper Chief, Assailant, as well as the Dark Magic Sage and Soldier stepped in front of them. "You will go no further!" the magic warrior said.

The Assailant drew a pair of serpentine daggers. The covering around her face dropped, revealing that she was the woman who'd first met Jeremy and Jaden. "It's you," the latter noted.

"Yes, I am Gravekeeper's Assailant. I'm sorry I fought you, but I had to obey my chief."

"It's cool."

"When you finally return to your world, please give a message to the owner of the other half. Tell him Yasmin's still in the other world, but I haven't forgotten him. And that I believe we will meet again one day."

"Huh, boyfriend."

"Talk about a long distance relationship," Jeremy commented.

"Stand back!" The Dark Magic Soldier ordered as the ill intended gravekeepers stepped forward. "Your chief and my lord have pardoned them."

"They have won the challenge and we must honor our word," Yasmin added. "We are the keepers of the grave, not the makers. If you want to harm any of them, you'll have to go through me." She held up her daggers while the magic warrior gripped his spear in both hands. The Gravekeeper Soldiers and Guards parted, giving them space to go through. "I would hurry."

"For sure," Jaden said. "But… how do we leave again?"

"I think a few friends will help show you the way." Jaden and Jeremy's decks glowed, and their respective duel spirits came out from them. They started to head towards the arch.

"_Coo!_"

"_Come along now._"

"They must want us to follow," Jeremy noted. Syrus rubbed his eyes in disbelief at the sight, but then started running like the others.

"Hurry!" Yasmin urged. 'Until we next meet.'

'I will see you again, Jeremy,' Gandoulum thought to himself.

They ran as fast as they could towards the arch. As they were getting closer, Jaden noticed the state of the three lights. "The lights, they're combining. We've gotta hurry!"

"_Coo!_"

"_Come on, keep running!_"

Chumley had the misfortune of falling forward. The others saw this and stopped. "Chumley, are you ok?" Jeremy asked.

"Old tricycle injury," he said, holding his right knee. "Just go on without me. You don't have time to wait. Seriously, go! You can still make it."

"No way Chumley."

"We're not abandoning you," Jaden added.

"You must." His backpack glowed with a golden light, which separated and resolved into Des Koala. Syrus rubbed his eyes again. The koala spirit picked up his duelist, held him on his back, and ran towards the arch, the others in pursuit. "I love running!" When they got to the entrance, green light shot out from the ground beneath them. The six students and Banner stopped in their tracks as it began to surround them. Their vision was filled with the green light, and then they lost consciousness.

* * *

Jaden awoke with his back against a column and Alexis leaning on him. He gently freed himself of her and got up at the same time as Jeremy set Christine on the ground. Both boys then noticed the cards of their duel spirits on the ground. They picked up their own, at the same time noticing Chumley's Des Koala and the fact that everyone else but them was still sleeping. "Weird," the blond Slifer commented.

"Yeah. Maybe we just had a hallucination because of those moldy sandwiches." The brunette boy looked down and saw that he still had the half medallion around his neck and that Jeremy has his own. "Or not."

"Well, looking at the bright side of things, we're back to our own world with one sun."

"Still… something just tells me, we haven't seen the last of the shadow games."

* * *

Hope you liked it and please review if at all possible.

Here's the list of cards I made up:

**Dark Magic Sage**

Atk/Def: 2400/1600

Attr: Dark

Type: Spellcaster

Lv: 6

Effect: If this card is summoned by the effect of 'Dark Magic Enchanter', you can destroy any two cards on your opponent's field. When this monster is attacked, by removing a spell card in your graveyard, this card takes no battle damage.

Image: A blue eyed, wise old man with pale skin, long white hair and a beard that falls down loosely. He wears long dark green robes divided at the lower half, with silver threading at the cuffs and neck and the 'Dark Magic' emblem sewn on the left shoulder. He holds a long ebony staff in his left hand with elegant engraving and an emerald at the tip.

**Dark Magic Healer**

Atk/Def: 1800/1300

Attr: Dark

Type: Spellcaster

Lv: 4

Effect: You can increase your life-points by 500 for every spellcaster type monster you control once per turn. This card cannot declare an attack on the turn its effect is used. When this card is in the graveyard, you can also treat it as any other two attributes you choose.

Image: A woman with smooth black hair that reaches her mid back. The 'Dark Magic' emblem is on the right side of the chest of her long blue and white dress. She has green eyes, is elegant and very beautiful.

**Dark Magic Diviner**

Atk/Def: 1600/1100

Attr: Dark

Type: Spellcaster

Lv: 4

Effect: When this monster is summoned in any way, you can destroy one magic or trap card for every 'Dark Magic' monster you control. This effect cannot be negated.

Image: A woman with ruffled brown hair that falls down to just below her shoulder blades. She has a red bandana on her head, wide round glasses and holds a medium size crystal ball in her left hand. She wears darkish green robes and has the 'Dark Magic' emblem on the right side of her chest.

**Dark Magic Soldier**

Atk/Def: 1300/800

Attr: Dark

Type: Spellcaster

Lv: 3

Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all warrior monsters you control are also treated as spellcasters and vice-versa. This monster cannot be attacked if you have another face-up warrior of spellcaster on the field.

Image: A brown eyed man wearing an open faced gray helmet, light breastplate with the 'Dark Magic' emblem engraved on it, gauntlets, leggings and boots. He holds a silvery metal spear as tall as himself in his right hand with a few magic sparks floating around it.

**Dark Magic Enchanter**

Atk/Def: 1200/800

Attr: Dark

Type: Spellcaster

Lv: 3

Effect: When this card is destroyed in battle, you can pay 500 life-points to special summon 'Dark Magic Sage' from your deck.

Image: A young boy with blue eyes, pale skin and inch long light red hair. He wears dark green robes with the 'Dark Magic' emblem sewn on the left shoulder.

**Dark Magic Trumpeter**

Atk/Def: 1000/1000

Attr: Dark

Type: Spellcaster

Lv: 3

Effect: When you control three 'Dark Magic Trumpeter' and all are in attack mode, or all are in face-up defence mode, you can send them to the graveyard and return every monster, magic or trap card in your graveyard and that has been removed from play to your deck. Then draw one card for every two returned to your deck.

Image: An average height man, with dark brown hair cut short. He wears a beige long sleeve shirt with the 'Dark Magic' emblem on the right side of the chest, pants of the same color, a light orange vest and a light brown belt around his waist. He carries a simple silver trumpet in one hand.

**Castle of the Dark Prince**

Field Spell

Effect: When you have no monsters on the field, you can special summon one level four or lower 'Dark Magic Monster from your hand. When this card goes from the field to the graveyard, you can special summon two 'Dark Magic' monsters from your graveyard.

Image: A tall, majestic and imposing stone castle with the 'Dark Magic' emblem on its walls. The stones are all half white and half black.

**Dark Magical Grave**

Quick-Play Spell

Effect: Remove one magic or trap card in your graveyard. This card gains the effect of the card removed from play.

Image: A plain stone tomb embedded in the ground with the 'Dark Magic' emblem on it.

**Dark Magical Reunion**

Normal Spell

Effect: Select one face-up card you control. If you have one or more cards with the same name in your deck and/or graveyard, you can activate/summon or set them by removing two cards from your deck that are the same type as the one selected.

Image: Three Dark Magic Trumpeters walking into a stone chamber from three different doorways.

**Shien's Advisor**

Atk/Def: 1700/1000

Attr: Earth

Type: Warrior

Lv: 4

Effect: You can send this card from your hand to the graveyard to add one 'Gateway of the Six' from your deck or graveyard to your hand. When this card is summoned, you can place two bushido counters on a compatible card. This card is also treated as a 'Six Samurai' monster.

Image: A man with dark blue full body robes and a black belt around his waist. He has a simple short katana at his left hip. His hair's black and tied into a top knot at the back of his head.

**Next chapter: **A select group of students are chosen to fight against Shadow Riders. The first one comes around, with someone in their sight who's wearing red.


	34. The Shadow Riders are Coming

Disclaimer: I still do not own Yugioh GX, but you already knew that.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**The Shadow Riders are Coming**

A dark, clouded night sky hung over Academy Island, casting an eerie touch. In a shadowy underground cave, eleven figures were gathered close to each other. "Our enemies have been tested," an old man's voice said. "Our allies are in place, the hour is upon us. It's time to cover the world in shadow. Which of you will lead us to battle?"

"I'll be the first to go, master," a haughty young man said.

"Nightshroud… So be it."

"I will not fail. Academy Island's prize will soon be ours."

* * *

Chancellor Sheppard stood still in his office, staring outside, observing the ongoing storm. A flash of lightning brought to his attention a person flying by in the distance on a wing shaped glider. "And so, it begins," he muttered to himself. "The fight… the war."

* * *

In the meantime, at the Slifer dorm, Jaden was asleep on his bed, unaware that the half medallion around his neck was glowing. Syrus and Chumley were cowering under their blankets, shivering in fright every time lightning struck and thunder rumbled. Jeremy was also awake, but was playing Super Ninja Fighters 2 on his handheld game player despite the late hour, with a pair of earphones cutting off most of the outside noise. "Room for one more?" Chumley asked Syrus.

"I really don't get it," the short boy said as he was looking down at Jaden. "There's thunder, lightning, how can Jaden sleep?"

"Uhh, Sy? Forget the guy who can sleep, think about the guy who can't!" Chumley let out a cry of fright when a rather loud clap of thunder resounded in the area.

Jeremy pulled out one of his earplugs at this. "I'm sorry, did you say something Chum?"

"This storm's scary!"

"How can you be this unconcerned about it?" Syrus inquired.

The blond Slifer boy simply shrugged his shoulders in response. "Dunno. I'm just not." He then put the earplug back in and returned to the video game for a while longer, not paying attention to the way his medallion was faintly glowing in tandem with Jaden's.

* * *

The nighttime storm now gone, the day had progressed so that the four Slifer boys found themselves in one of Professor Banner's classes, along with a multitude of other students from all three dorms. Jaden and Jeremy were sitting next to each other, their heads resting atop their arms while they were snoring away, like they'd been doing for most of the class. After a while, Jaden yawned , stretched out his arms and pulled back the crude mask he'd been using to make it seem as if he'd been awake all along. "Time to get up."

"For the next class?" Syrus wondered.

"Of course not," Jaden replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "For lunch." He reached down, picked up a lunch box and popped it open in front of him. "Oh yeah. The one thing I can't get enough of."

"One moment there Jaden," Banner spoke up. "I'm afraid your lunch will have to wait. It seems Chancellor Sheppard wants a word with you."

"Huh?" Jaden said, a sardine sticking out from his mouth.

"I'll watch your lunch for you," Chumley suggested. "Especially if you have a side of grilled cheese in there."

"You wiff."

"Chancellor Sheppard? Jaden, what'd you do?" Syrus asked.

Jaden let the sardine fall from his mouth. "Maybe it's good, like an award."

"No way," Chazz spoke up, a couple rows higher and off to the side. Since the school duel, he still wore his dark blazer, instead of the Slifer uniform like the others. "It's never good with Sheppard. You are so busted!"

"Actually, Chazz, he wants to see you too," Banner added.

"He wha-?"

"As well as Bastion, Alexis, Christine and Jeremy." The students in question stood up when their names were called, except for the last, who was still asleep and snoring.

"Hey Jeremy," Jaden spoke up, shaking his friend's shoulder gently. "I think you'd better wake up now."

The blond Slifer raised his arm and slammed a fist onto the abandoned sardine. "Ugh, gross!" he muttered as it jarred his senses. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked upon seeing the others looking at him.

"Sheppard wants to see us," Jaden explained. "As well as Chazz, Alexis, Christine and Bastion."

"Oh boy. This doesn't sound good."

* * *

"Uhh, we're not gonna make a run for it, Professor Banner," Jaden said as the red dorm's headmaster walked with them in the hallway. "You don't have to escort us to Chancellor Sheppard's office."

"Yes I do. You see, he wants to see me as well."

They went on until reaching the door to Sheppard's office, were they met Crowler, Zane and Erik who were coming from the opposite direction. "Well, well," the Obelisk headmaster spoke up. "Look at this congregation of students. Some of the best duelists in the school, I see. Uh oh, which one of these is not like the others? Clearly someone here is a little bit lost," he said, looking towards Jaden and Jeremy.

"He is not," Jaden responded. "Chazz was invited."

"He means you!"

They all walked through the doorway and into the office. Sheppard was standing behind his desk, a solemn expression on his face. "Are we all in trouble or something?" Jeremy inquired.

"Yes, but not in the way you think."

"Oooookay. So what's the problem?"

"There exist three monster cards of great power and evil in this world known as the Sacred Beasts."

"The sacred what?" Jaden asked.

"Beasts. And because of their immense power, their incredible might, they were hidden here."

"Sweet. Like under someone's mattress? Or in a cookie jar?"

"Hey, let im finish!" Chazz said.

"They're not in a cookie jar. They're actually much close than you'd think. Right below you." The students and headmasters gasped upon hearing this. "You see, this academy was built in part to protect the Sacred Beasts cards. They were buried deep underground, their powers sealed away. After all, legend says if these cards ever see the light of day, terrible things will happen. Buildings will crumble, light will fade, souls will fall, our world will be no more."

"No more?" Bastion said.

"Whoa, this is some serious stuff," Jeremy commented.

"So where are these cards?" Jaden asked. "I say we take them out for a spin."

"HAVEN'T YOU BEEN LISTENING!" Crowler yelled.

"Of course not," Jeremy said, the palm of his hand acquainting itself with his forehead.

"And since when do you listen all that much?"

"Since always." Christine coughed into her hand. "Well… when I'm awake… usually."

"Anyway… this is why the ten of you are here. To protect these three cards from the wicked ones."

Zane frowned in confusion. "The wicked ones?"

"That's right. Ten duelists known as the Shadow Riders who covet these cards. And I'm afraid one of them is already here. He arrived in the thick of last night's storm."

"Stereotypical villain," Erik commented.

"So how do we protect these cards?" Alexis asked.

"By protecting the ten spirit gates. To get to the cards one must unlock them. And to unlock them, one must gain the key for each gate. That is how will protect those cards. By protecting the keys. And here they are." He took out a small case and set it down on his desk. "One for each of you to guard."

"Wait," Bastion spoke up. "So we hold the keys. Won't that make us targets?"

"It's true. With these keys, the Shadow Riders will seek you out."

"Uhh, seek us out?" Chazz said. "You mean take us out."

"Only in a duel."

"Why would they bother dueling us instead of just taking the keys?" Christine asked.

"Fortunately for our side, they keys can't simply be stolen. An ancient edict commands that they must be won in a duel. And so I called on our school's ten best to take up this challenge and fight the good fight. Well, eight best, but I needed ten, so, you know?"

"He certainly doesn't mean me," Crowler said to the two Slifer boys.

"Of course, if any of you don't think you're up to it, and feel like backing out, I won't blame you. After all, these Shadow Riders play for keeps. So, who feels like saving the world?" He opened up the case, showing what seemed like a golden colored puzzle, the different pieces with symbols painted in black.

They looked at each other for a moment, pondering on the situation, before Jaden reached in and picked up one of the pieces. "Count me in." He set in over his head, letting it hang with the medallion half.

"Me too." Jeremy said, then took another piece and hung it with his own medallion.

Zane took another. "I also accept."

"Same here," Erik muttered.

"It would be my honor," Bastion said as he picked up the fourth.

"I don't want you boys having all the fun," Alexis joked.

"Can't let you guys go off on your own," Christine added.

"I'll show that the Chazz has got it."

"How could I refuse?" Crowler spoke up. "I mean, our very world is at stake. Our way of life, the future of the school… and if I said no, I wouldn't get this very posh piece of jewellery."

"Yes… well, good to know you're doing it for right reasons… kind of," Sheppard commented.

"Well then, I'm the last one." Banner walked up to the case and took the remaining key, letting Pharaoh paw at it.

"Well then, let's get started," Jaden said. "I think that the best duelist should go first. So that would mean… well, me."

"Pff! Yeah right!" Jeremy scoffed. "I'm obviously the best one around."

"YOU TWO!" Crowler cried out. "You couldn't beat a drum! It's clear that I should be the first. If not, I say Zane. After all, he did beat Jaden. Yes, that's right. I know all about that little match you had with Zane. And I say little because I heard you lost in no time at all. How pathetic."

"Forget em both," Chazz said. "I'm the best choice."

"There is no choice," Sheppard explained. "This isn't some tournament where we choose who goes first. This is war. You could be attacked by your enemy any time, any place. So, be on guard."

* * *

Later in the day, having returned to their dorm, Jaden and Jeremy had gone through the process of explaining everything to Syrus and Chumley. "So that's pretty much the story, guys. Sweet huh? So now, we just wait."

"Aren't you sacred?" Syrus asked.

"No joke," Chumley added. "Creepy shadow guys looking to beat you so they can destroy the entire world. I meant that's pretty intense."

"Just let em try," Jeremy said. "They'll break their teeth on us."

"Uhh, how's that gonna help?"

"It's a figure of speech. By the way…" Jeremy took a card from his deck case and tossed it to Jaden. "Figure this might be useful for you."

"Don't you use this card?"

"I've got a spare copy."

"Okay then." Jaden put the card in question in with his deck and then reached into one of the drawers for a bunch of extra cards. He searched through it for a second, before extracting a card which he gave his friend. "Here, you should be able to get some use out of this, seeing how many equip spells you've got."

"Thanks Jayman."

"Sure thing." Jaden yawned at this. "Well, I think I'm gonna hit the hay."

"Wait a sec!" Syrus spoke up. "You can't just go to sleep right now. I mean, what if a Shadow Rider shows up?"

"I'm sure they'll wake me up. I only hope it's not before 10. Actually, make that 11, so I have time to shower and stuff."

"Wow, you guys sure seem chill."

"If I get to scarf down breakfast, then I'll be fine," Jeremy said.

"The fate of the world's in your hands. Maybe you could skip breakfast?"

"Sy's right," Chumley agreed. "And I'd be happy to look after it for you."

"Yeah, sure Chum. And speaking of food, I think I'll go and grab a bite before bedtime."

"You do that," Jaden said as his friend walked out the door. "In the meantime, I'm gonna settle myself between the sheets. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Jaden lay down on his bed and pulled the covers overtop of himself. "When I save the world."

* * *

Later, Alexis and Christine were walking along towards the Slifer Red dorm, the moon casting enough light for them to see reasonably well. "We've got a bunch of evil guys who want to take over three powerful cards and the world," Christine muttered. "Sounds just like what my dad went through with Yugi Moto and his friends when Marik tried the same thing with the Egyptian Gods."

"Yeah," Alexis agreed. "Now it's time for our generation to save the world."

"If the Shadow Riders really choose who to duel, odds are they'll go for who they think is weakest first. And with the red jackets, that'll be Jeremy and Jaden."

Silence remained between the two of them for a moment longer, until the blond girl interrupted it. "Christine?"

"Yes?"

"What're you and Jeremy?"

The blue haired girl blushed a little at the question. "Wadda you mean? We're friends."

"I know you two are friends and all that, but half the time you act as if you're more than just that." Christine tried to put on a quizzical expression. "Come on! It's so obvious! The only ones who don't seem to realize it are you and him."

"Well… the thing about that is… I guess… you're right. Jeremy's nice and a really great guy who'd do anything to help. I mean, he's saved me twice already. And there are times I almost feel like I want us to be something more, but… I'm just not sure about all this."

Alexis was about to say something in response, but it was then that they spotted a strange light coming from their friends' room. The two girls ran the rest of the way until they came to the room in question, which was bathed in a strange whitish light. Jaden stood in the middle, the others sound asleep in their beds. "Jaden."

"What's happening?" Christine asked.

"The first duel is happening?" an unknown voice spoke up. The light suddenly shone brightly until their vision was completely obscured.

* * *

When their sight returned to them, Jaden, Alexis and Christine were standing on a platform of white light, hovering in the middle of a volcano, rocks walls on all sides and a pot of lava below. "Where are we?" Alexis wondered.

"In one very weird dream," Jaden said.

A pillar of lava suddenly shot out into the sky, taking the form of a serpentine dragon. "Make that a nightmare," Christine corrected.

"It's neither," the unknown voice spoke from the lava dragon. It twisted in the air a few times and then crashed into the platform. A sinister figure walked out from the blazing remains, laughing maniacally.

"What's going on?"

"You mean, you don't know?"

"Call me a slow learner."

"And call me Nightshroud." The fire died down so that they could see the person clearly. He was a young man with long brown hair, a trench coat of the same color, a dragon like mask on his face and an academy style duel disk on his arm.

"Nightshroud?"

"I'll be the one taking that key you have around your neck."

"Wow, you guys sure don't waste much time."

Nightshroud looked down at the medallion half hanging around his neck, which just so happened to be glowing like Jaden's piece. "Nice medallion," the Shadow Rider commented. "The Gravekeeper Chief must be getting sloppy. But if you think you'll beat me as easily as you beat him, you have another thing coming. I'll get that key and I'll get it now. And just to make sure of that, I've brought a few friends over."

"What's that mean?"

"Say hello to Syrus, Chumley and Jeremy."

"Jaden!"

"A little help please!"

"Save us!"

Jaden looked in the direction his friends' voices were coming from and saw a rock sitting in the lava pot. In the middle of three 'claws', was a light blue bubble, in which were the three Slifer boys, still wearing their pajamas. "No!" Christine exclaimed.

"Hold on!" Alexis said.

"I'll get you guys outta there," Jaden reassured them.

"Looks like they're in hot water. Or maybe I should say hot molten lava. But then, such is the nature of a shadow game, key keeper."

"Shadow Game? Listen, just duel me, but let them go!"

"I don't think so. I need them to ensure a speedy match. After all, that protection orb they're in… well, let's just say that it wasn't exactly made to last. And, I'm afraid there's more." He held up a duel monster card, except that the image was pitch black. "For you see, also at stake, is your soul. Which will be sealed inside this card when you lose. Of course, if I lose, then my soul will be sealed. But let's be honest… me lose? No way. Now then… shall we?"

"You can't agree to this," Alexis warned. "There's too much at stake."

"Tell that to Syrus, Chumley and Jeremy. They're about to become meatballs in a lava stew. They're my friends and I'm not gonna let that happen to them or us. Besides, this isn't my first shadow game. I'm just hoping it doesn't hurt as bad as the others. Okay then, you want a duel? You got it!"

"Good luck Jay," Syrus articulated.

"Do your best," Jeremy encouraged him.

"And just let us know, if we can help at all."

"Uhh, thanks Chum. But I think I've got all the help I need right here in my deck." Both duelists inserted their decks and activated their disks.

Nightshroud: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"You wanna see game?" Nightshroud said as he drew his sixth card. "How's this? I summon troop dragon in defense mode." A short humanoid green dragon armed with a sword and shield kneeled down in front his duelist. (800) "Plus, I'll place a face-down while I'm at it."

"Not bad," Jaden admitted. "But how's he gonna stack up against this guy? Elemental hero Sparkman." The gold and blue hero stood tall on Jaden's field. (1600) "Attack." The electric hero shot a stream of electricity from the palm of his hand which made short work of Troop Dragon.

"You know, there was something I forgot to mention. Troop Dragon's effect lets me summon another one from my deck, whenever he's sent to the graveyard." A second copy of the named monster took its place. (800)

"Right, forgot about that," Jaden muttered. "I'll end my turn with a face-down."

"Now I'll play my face-down, Call of the Haunted. This lets me dig through my graveyard for a monster. Such as, the Troop Dragon." The first humanoid dragon reappeared next to the other one. (700) "There's more where that came from. Next I'll sacrifice them both to summon…

"Summon what?"

"Oh boy."

"This can't be good."

Another serpentine dragon shot out from the lava and flew through the air, passing in front of the three trapped Slifers, surprising them enough so that they fell over. "It's cool, guys," Chumley said. "The wall's still in one piece." He knocked against their shield's surface a few times, but was surprised when his arm passed through on the last one. "Though it's a smaller piece."

"It's… disappearing," Syrus realized.

"Really not fun!" Jeremy exclaimed.

The creature circled in the air a few times more, then came to a halt in front of Nightshroud, the lava fading away to reveal a thin, yet tall and fierce black dragon. "The Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

"This is not good!" Christine said.

"Red Eyes, attack Sparkman. Inferno Fire Blast." The named dragon opened its mouth and shot out a blast of fire which incinerated the electric hero and went on to strike Jaden.

Jaden: 4000-3200

"Jaden!"

"Hey, that hurt," Jaden said as he was clutching his chest.

"And it's about to hurt a lot more, key keeper. Because the true pain is about to begin."

"We'll just see about that. I activate Hero Signal. Since you just destroyed one of my monsters, this lets me summon an elemental hero from my deck. So long as it's level four or below. Like, the elemental hero Clayman." The stone warrior kneeled down in front of Jaden. (2000)

"Alright then. Go ahead and make your move. But make it quick, I've got a doomsday to start."

"Doomsday?" Chumley spoke up. "I'm too young!"

"Sorry Nightshroud. But the only doom that's coming around here, is to your life-points. I play the spell card Polymerization. And with Clayman with Burstinatrix, I can fusion summon Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster." Clayman and Burstinatrix swirled around each other until becoming the armored female hero. (2500) "And when she's in defense mode, she can blast you directly with half her attack points. So go ahead and let im have it Blaster. Rampart Barrage." The hero in question shot a salve of rockets at the opposing duelist from her cannon arm.

Nightshroud: 4000-3000

"Yes!" Christine exclaimed.

"Good one Jaden!" Alexis added.

"And don't forget she's still in defense. So if you get to me you'll have to get through her. Pretty sweet, don't cha think? Well, maybe not so sweet for you, but, you know what I mean."

"Enough! You fool! That Blaster won't be able to protect you against my Red Eyes' next attack."

"Okay then, why not?" Jaden wondered.

"You'll see. Now I summon Attachment Dragon." A small blue dragon with bat like wings appeared beside its ally. (100) "But don't worry, he's not the attacking type. Like his name suggests, he's a lot more of the attaching type." The blue creature flew over to Rampart Blaster and grabbed her shoulders in its talons, forcing her to stand up. (2000) "Blaster's made a new friend. A friend that forces her into attack mode. And now that that's done… Red Eyes can destroy her." The black dragon launched another blast of fire, which blew apart Jaden's monster and the dragon latched on, then went on to whip the Slifer duelist again.

Jaden: 3200-2800

Syrus and Chumley leaned against the orb's walls, looking at their friend with concern. The concern was then changed towards themselves as their upper bodies passed through. Jeremy grabbed both of them and pulled them back into relative safety. "This thing is going gonzo, fast!" Chumley pointed out.

"Aww man!" Syrus moaned.

"Let's just hope it holds out long enough for Jaden to get us out of here."

"My turn." 'And from the rate that orb is disappearing, it may be my last chance to save my friends, and the world.' "First, I play Pot of Greed, to draw two cards. Then I'm gonna bust out Elemental Hero Stratos." The monster that appeared was a man with blue skin and pieces of armor around his shoulders, legs and arms. He wore a straight winged helmet with a visor obscuring his face and has jet like wings on his back. (1800)

"Sweet!" Jeremy exclaimed. "A new hero."

"That's right. And since he was just summoned, I can bring Elemental Hero Heat to my hand. Then I'll bring him to the field thanks to Hero Bond." Another new hero appeared. This one wore a fiery red and yellow suit, had an orange mask over his face and was quite muscular. (1600) "Thanks to his effect, he gains 200 attack points for every other elemental hero on my field, plus another 500 thanks to H-Heated heart." The fiery hero flexed his muscles as he was powered up. (2000-2500)

"Alright! Now he's got more points than Red Eyes," Christine noted.

"Go get im Jaden," Alexis added.

"You heard her. Attack Red Eyes Black Dragon with Flaming Fists." Heat ignited his fists as he charged the enemy monster, then jumped in the air and struck him in the head with a double handed blow.

Nightshroud: 3000-2900

"Stratos, blow away some of his life-points." The named hero extended his jet wings and started the propellers, which spun fast enough so that they created a gust of wind which struck Nightshroud.

Nightshroud: 2900-1100

"Aww, come on," Jaden said in regard to his opponent not reacting to the attack. "Aren't you gonna flinch of anything?"

"Sorry, but I leave that to my opponents."

"Oh yeah? We'll just see what we can do about that. I play Mirage of Nightmare and a card face-down." The Heat's attack points went down a little with the end of Jaden's turn. (2500-2000)

"My draw."

"And mine too. During your standby phase, Mirage let's me draw until I have four cards in my hand."

"Just don't forget to discard the same amount of cards you draw next turn."

"Actually, I was thinking otherwise. I play Emergency Provisions, sacrificing Mirage to regain 1000 life-points."

Jaden: 2800-3800

"Cool," Alexis commented. "Now the discard rule is no longer in effect."

"So you were able to avoid your Mirage's unpleasantness. But here's something a bit more real. I activate Dark Dragon Ritual. So I'll toss out Divine Dragon Ragnarok from my hand, to summon Knight of Dark Dragons." A stalwart knight wearing dark colored armor and holding a long sword appeared in front of Nightshroud. (1900) "Now attack the Elemental Hero Stratos." The dark knight charged forward and sliced his weapon across the wind hero's torso, thus defeating him.

Jaden: 3800-3700

"Now Heat loses 200 attack points," Christine pointed out. (2000-1800)

"It's true," Nightshroud agreed. "But that's not even the worst of it. By sacrificing Knight of Dark Dragons, I can summon from my deck… the Red Eyes Black Dragon." The knight disappeared and was replaced by the imposing black dragon. (2400) "One face-down ends my turn."

"I switch Heat to defense mode and summon Wildheart in defense as well." The fiery hero crossed his arms in front of him and dropped to one knee as he was accompanied by the tribal warrior who also kneeled down. (1200) (1600) "And that's all for now."

"I summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode." A yellow serpentine dragon with a whip like tail and a blue mane appeared beside its black counterpart. (1600) "Then I reveal Dragon's Rage, which allows my dragons to do damage through defending monsters. Red Eyes, destroy Wildheart." The bigger creature spat out a stream of fire from its great maw which blew away the defending hero.

Jaden: 3700-2900

"Mirage dragon, follow up with Spectrum Blast." The smaller dragon reared back its head and fired a multi-colored blast of light that struck down Jaden's remaining monster.

Jaden: 2900-2500

"That ends my turn."

"And starts mine. I activate Dark Factory of Mass Production, to bring Sparkman and Clayman back to my hand. Then I'll fuse them together and create, the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." The two named monsters entered Polymerization's vortex and came out at the giant electric hero. (2400) "Thanks to his effect, I get to destroy a monster whose original attack points are lower than his. So Mirage Dragon is outta here." The giant let loose a blast of electricity from the palm of his hand which struck its target head on.

"But if Thunder Giant attacks, he'll be destroyed too," Syrus pointed out.

"Oh no he won't. First, I play Elemental Recovery. And by removing a Polymerization from my graveyard, I can add one spell card from my grave to my hand. And I think I'll pick, H-Heated heart. Which I'll use on Thunder Giant." (2400-2900) "Now attack. Voltic Thunder." Jaden's hero placed his hands together and thrust them forward, sending out a wave of power which wiped out his enemy.

Nightshroud: 1100-600

"I end my turn." (2900-2400)

"Alright! Jaden just took out Red Eyes again," Jeremy said.

"Let's just hope he doesn't have to do it another time," Chumley added.

"Don't get your hopes up," Nightshroud butt in. "There's plenty more where that came from."

"I don't like the sound of this," Alexis muttered.

"Me neither," Christine agreed.

"I play Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until we have six cards each. Then I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back my Red Eyes." The majestic black dragon rose on Nightshroud's field again. (2400) "Next I'll play my own Polymerization. Fusing Red Eyes Black Dragon with Meteor Dragon to create, Meteor Black Dragon." The two monsters collided with each other, and when the shroud of fire died down, there lay an even bigger one. It was a black and red, crusted with pieces of molten rock and stood on its hind legs. (3500) "Attack, with Meteor Breath." The imposing beast reared back its head, then dropped it down, shooting a flow of lava peppered with chunks of molten rock.

Jaden: 2500-1400

"No, I can't let it end here," Jaden said.

"You don't have to. My dragon will end it for you."

"Guys?" Syrus spoke up. "If we don't make it through this… I just want you to know, you've been great friends. I love you."

"Errrm, thanks."

"Hurry Jay! Sy's getting mushy!"

"Jaden, that orb's disappearing fast!" Alexis reminded him.

"Not as fast as that Meteor Black Dragon's about to. I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman." The water hero stood up in front of Jaden. (800) "And when he's summoned out all by himself, I get to draw two cards. Like, O-Oversoul, to bring back Elemental Hero Sparkman." The blue and gold hero rose up next to his ally. (1600) "Next I'll play the field spell, Fusion Gale." A dark cloud suddenly appeared over the field. "The storm's acomin. And it's coming for you, Nightshroud. Cause with Fusion Gate, I can fuse Sparkman and Bubbleman who're on my field, with Avian in my hand, to create the mighty, Elemental Hero Tempest." The three heroes flew up into the cloud and Jaden's powerful fusion monster came out of it. (2800)

"But as strong as Tempest is, he still doesn't have enough attack points," Christine noted.

"That's why I've got Element Sword." A glowing energy blade appeared in Tempest's free hand. "This gives him 800 extra attack points when battling a monster with a different attribute."

"Way to play Jay!" Syrus cheered.

"With 3600 attack points, he'll have more than that dragon," Chumley said, then pumped his arm in the air, but pulled it back into the orb.

"Now go Tempest. Attack!" (2800-3600) The named hero flew forward and decapitated his enemy with his sword. The giant dragon exploded in a shower of pixels which peppered its duelist.

Nightshroud: 600-500

"There's that flinch I was looking for."

"No it wasn't," Nightshroud corrected. "That was a twitch. It's not the same. I had something in my eye, that's all. You got that? It was a twitch!"

Call it what you want, but there's one thing you can't argue, I'm winning this shadow duel now, Nightshroud. And I think I'll end my turn leaving you with that thought and a face-down."

"You chump. Life-points don't decide who's winning the duel, it's the cards you hold. And if you don't believe me, I'm quite certain this next one here will prove it to you."

"Yeah right! I bet you're just bluffing." The lava underneath them began to bubble and form a bunch of dragon shaped figures behind the dragon duelist. "Or not."

"Did you honestly think, key keeper, that you could get rid of all my dragons so easily? That you could just banish them to the graveyard and be done with them?"

"That's kind of what I was hoping for."

"Well you can just keep on hoping. Because I summon the Red Eyes Black Chick." A thick red egg rose up from the lava on the field. A bit of its shell cracked away to reveal a small black dragon head with red eyes. (800)

"That's your big card?"

"He's a little short on points," Christine remarked.

"That may be, until I use his special ability. By sending him to the graveyard, I'm allowed to summon from my hand, his daddy, the full grown Red Eyes Black Dragon." The rest of the egg shell cracked apart and the creature within expanded until becoming the named monster. (2400) "Actually, that's not quite true. As big as this Red Eyes is, they can still get bigger. I sacrifice Red Eyes to bring out, Red Eyes Darkness Dragon." The imposing black dragon down down into the lava and another bigger one with six wings came up, along with a Nightshroud's other destroyed dragons. (2400) "Now the molten ashes of my fallen dragons boil up from their fiery graves. A blaze with new life, each granting my Red Eyes Darkness Dragon 300 additional attack points." The other dragons were then absorbed into the evolved Red Eyes. (2400-5400) The lava faded away, displaying a new monster similar to the first, but with lines and gems of fiery colors over its body and shaped ever more fiercely than its previous form.

"5400 attack points!" Alexis said surprised. "He can't withstand that."

"It's over. The spirit key, your friends, you soul, with Darkness Dragon's attack, they're all mine! So go, Inferno Dark Fire, end this!" The powerful dragon let loose a torrent of flames from its great maw towards Jaden's hero. Those watching braced themselves as the attack drew nearer to its target.

"Don't think so!" Jaden interrupted. "I've got a trap. Go, Negate Attack." A green barrier came into existence around Tempest, shielding from the fire.

"What the-?"

"Your attack's cancelled out. And Negate Attack ends your battle phase, so you can't attack me anymore this turn."

"Oh well, till next time."

* * *

Away from the ongoing shadow game, Zane was standing next to the lighthouse by himself. He grabbed his spirit key when he felt it gently shaking. "There's something amiss," he said, looking to the volcano. "A Shadow Rider. This key's telling me one's close."

* * *

At the same time, Bastion was in his dorm room, sitting in front of his computer, when he felt his key go off. "The spirit gate key. It's shaking."

* * *

As for Chazz, he was lying awake on his bed, staring up at the Ojama Yellow duel spirit who was dancing in front of his face. "Stop dancing!" he snapped.

"Sorry boss. Just trying to keep rhythm with that spirit key."

Chazz sat up and smacked the annoying spirit away. "Actually, what is that trembling?" He then held the spirit key in his hand, sensing it being alert.

* * *

At the Obelisk Blue dorm, Erik was pacing restlessly in his room as he was deep in thought. He broke off from his pacing and looked down at the spirit key around his neck. "Something's going on here," he muttered.

* * *

Dr. Crowler was simply sleeping away, blissfully unaware of anything wrong that was happening.

* * *

And the Slifer Reds' Headmaster stood a short distance from the volcano's base, holding Pharaoh in his arms, looking in the direction the duel was happening, a solemn expression on his face.

* * *

'What were you thinking Sheppard?' the academy's chancellor asked himself as he sat in his office. 'Getting your students involved in a battle with such stakes? But then, what other choice did you have? After all, if those Shadow Riders get a hold of those three Sacred Beasts cards…' "They'll be destroyed no matter what. We all will."

* * *

Returning to the shadow game, Jaden was looking at the situation with a certain amount of uncertainty, but shook it aside and took his turn. "My draw. First off, I summon Wroughtweiler in defense mode. And I'll switch Elemental Hero Tempest to defense as well." The visor wearing metal dog crouched down next to the winged hero who went to one knee and crossed his arms. (1200) (2800)

"Did you forget about Dragon's Rage?" Nightshroud asked. "Even in defense mode my dragons can still deal damage."

"I know. That's why I'm playing this, R-Righteous Justice. It lets me destroy one of your spell or trap cards for every elemental hero I have out." The Shadow Rider's trap then shattered. "Then I'll call it a turn."

"That's funny. You know what I'd call it? A waste of time. And time, in case you forgot, is very much of the essence. Well, at least for your friends who're about to be deep fried that is."

"Don't listen to him Jaden," Syrus spoke up.

"Just concentrate on winning the duel," Jeremy said.

"Deep fried? I'll never be able to look at a french fry again. Though I'll probably still be able to eat them."

"La di da," Nightshroud muttered. "What to do, what do do?"

"How about you make your move?" Jaden suggested.

"Oh, right, it's my turn. Sorry. I play Pot of Greed. Then I summon Spear Dragon in attack mode." A blue dragon with a beige underbelly and a long muzzle rose next to its powerful ally. (1900) "Next I play Dragonic Healing. By choosing a level four or lower dragon type monster I control, I regain life-points equal to its attack points."

Nightshroud: 500-2400

"And as for the matter of your Tempest and his special ability. Since you can save him from being destroyed in battle by giving up one of your spell or trap cards, I'll just get rid of them with Heavy Storm." A hurricane like wind came up, blowing away the dark cloud and shattering the defending hero's sword. "Just try saving your Tempest now. Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, Inferno Dark Fire." The named monster shot out another massive blast of fire which Jaden's hero was unable to withstand. "Now, Spear Dragon, give that Wroughtweiler something to chew on. Cyclone Blast." The smaller dragon opened up its mouth and shot out a lance of green energy which struck down the metal dog.

"Wroughtweiler doesn't roll over that easy. When he's destroyed in battle, I get back an elemental hero and Polymerization from the graveyard." Spear Dragon suddenly fired another beam of green energy, this one which passed through Jaden's torso, making him cringe and stifle a cry of pain.

Jaden: 1400-700

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Nightshroud taunted. "When Spear Dragon attacks a monster in defense mode with less points than his attack, the difference is dealt to you as damage. However, Spear Dragon must then switch to defense mode." The monster in question crouched down. (0) "It's your move, if you have any strength left to make it." Jaden's body chose that moment to give out and he fell face forward.

"Jaden!" Christine exclaimed.

"Aww man!"

"Oh no!"

"Enough!" Alexis spoke up. "This duel is over!"

"Says who?"

"Says me and this." The blond girl held up her own spirit key. "I have a spirit gate key too. Let my friends go and I'll let you me for it and have my soul either way."

Nightshroud looked her, feeling confused. 'I know you.'

"You can't lose. So just let them go and deal with me."

Jeremy's medallion suddenly began to glow brightly, apart from two of the red spots. A bright light shone from it, strengthening the energy bubble around him and his friends, then flew into Jaden, at which he got to his feet. "I won't let you, Alexis. After all, I'm just one turn away from winning this duel. And Jeremy, thanks for the boost."

"You're welcome, Jaden. But I have no idea how it happened."

"Alright then. I play Legacy of a Hero. Since there are more than two level four or higher elemental heroes in my graveyard, I can draw three cards. Then I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in attack mode." The muscular tribal hero stood tall on Jaden's field again. (1500) "Next I activate the spell card Wild Half. This cuts your monster's original attack points in half and summons a token with the same stats." Nightshroud's powerful dragon lost points as a copy appeared next to it. (5400-4200) (4200)

"But because of all the dragon's in Nightshroud's graveyard, they still have 4200 attack points each," Christine pointed out.

"I'm getting to that. Next up, is Polymerization, which I'll use to fuse Wildheart and Bladedge to create, the Elemental Hero Wildedge." The two monsters were sucked into the fusion vortex and came out as a new monster. This one was a man with dark skin, bulging muscles, wearing golden armor on an arm and leg, shoulder and head. His attire was complete with a large sword strapped to his back. (2600) "And one of the things that puts him on the edge of being wild, is that he can attack all the monsters you have out at the very same time."

"You just go ahead and do that then. He still has less attack points than my dragons."

"Is that so? Well I've got a couple of cards that say otherwise. First, I'll throw down a face-down. Then I activate Turn Jump."

"I thought Jeremy used that card," Alexis said.

"He does, but he traded me a spare. And thanks to that, I'll be able to clear the field of those dragons. Because since the duel's just gone three turns ahead, I can activate my face-down, Soul Union. This lets one of my heroes gain as many attack points as another one in the graveyard. Such as, the Elemental Hero Tempest." The ghostly form of Jaden's fallen hero appeared behind his comrade, then faded into him, boosting his power. (2600-5400)

"Impossible!"

"Alright!" Christine exclaimed.

"You go Jaden!" Alexis said.

"Now go, Wildedge. Attack the Red Eyes dragons and Spear Dragon with Scimitar Slash." The super powered hero charged forward and swung his sword across the first Red Eyes' neck, spun around and jumped up, doing the same to its duplicate, then finished by coming down upon Spear Dragon with a downward strike.

Nightshroud: 2400-0

"That's game." Both duelists then collapsed and everyone was surrounded by fire, which didn't burn. And when it faded away, they were all on the volcano's side.

"What the-?" Chumley exclaimed when he took their surroundings into account.

"We're alive. We're alive," Syrus stated.

"He did it," Alexis said, getting to her feet. "Jaden did it."

"Where is he?" Christine wondered.

"Over here," Jeremy called to them. They ran over to their unconscious friend. "He's not looking so good."

"He's not moving. Come on Jay."

"Sy, he'll be fine," Christine pointed out after checking his pulse. "Tired maybe, but who could blame him?"

"That's more than I can say for Nightshroud." Alexis picked up a card lying on the ground. She flipped it around and saw the image of his mask surrounded by chains. "At least we'll be safe from him now." She then walked over to the defeated duelist who opened an eye to look at her.

"What is it?" Christine asked as she kneeled next to her friend

"Alexis," he managed to articulate, then fell into unconsciousness.

Both girl's faces lit up in recognition. "It can't be!" Alexis exclaimed.

Bastion, Chazz, Zane and Erik came running towards the four Slifer boys. "What happened?" Chazz asked.

"One of the Shadow Riders challenged Jaden to a duel," Syrus explained.

"Jaden won?" Erik inquired.

"He sure did. It was a lishus battle. There was lava, dragons and then Jeremy used his medallion so that Jaden had enough strength to finish the duel and beat Nightshroud."

"I didn't use my medallion for anything," Jeremy corrected. "It just went off by itself."

"So this must be the Shadow Rider," Zane muttered, then walked over to the presumed dark duelist, but was surprised at the sight of Alexis hugging him as she cried and Christine keeping a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Alexis?"

"It's him, Zane. It's him," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't understand how, but, it's him. I thought I'd lost him, but he's back. He's finally back."

"What're you talking about? Whose back?"

"Look at his face. It's my brother."

Zane recoiled in shock upon taking note of the young man's face. "Atticus?"

"It wasn't him before, but that card took away whatever darkness was holding him. He's back now."

"And if this is how it is after you win a duel, just think what it's like when you lose."

"Personally, I'd rather not," Jeremy mumbled as they all stood close to each other, looking out to the sun that was just beginning to rise.

"The sun may be coming up now, but night will fall again soon. And when it does we must be ready."

* * *

Okay, hope you liked it and all that stuff.

**Made up cards:**

Dragonic Healing  
Normal spell  
Effect: Select one level four or lower dragon type monster you control. Increase your life-points by an amount equal to its attack points.  
Image: Spear Dragon lying down as a young girl is taking care of a cut on its side.

**Next chapter:** With Jaden knocked out after winning his match, the second Shadow Rider goes after the other Slifer.


	35. When Skill Goes Down the Drain

Disclaimer: Since when do I own Yugioh GX? (That's a rhetorical question by the way)

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**When Skill Goes Down the Drain**

The morning and most of the day had already gone by since Jaden had defeated Nightshroud in their duel. Now free of the evil being controlling him, Atticus was recovering in the infirmary, unconscious on a hospital bed. Jaden was lying on another bed and hadn't woken up since winning the shadow game. Even with what Jeremy's medallion had done to him, he was still worn and battered as a result of the monster attacks he'd gone through. Alexis had been excused from the last class of the day and was sitting in a chair next to her brother's prone form. She was grateful that Jaden had brought Atticus back, but felt bad for what he, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley had gone through.

The Obelisk girl looked to the infirmary door and saw Syrus walking through. "Hey Alexis," he greeted. "How's your brother doing?"

"He hasn't woken up yet," she answered. "But Ms. Fontaine says that his condition's stable."

"What about Jaden? Is he any better?"

"A little bit better, but only that. All those attacks didn't do him any good, and he hasn't woken up either. Where's Jeremy?"

"He should be coming over soon." As if on cue, Jeremy walked in right at that moment, accompanied by Christine, Zane, Erik, Bastion and Chazz. Alexis briefly summed up both her brother and Jaden's conditions so far.

"It's good that your brother's back," Christine spoke up. "But it's too bad that he had to go through being possessed by Nightshroud."

"And what he did to Jaden and you guys under his control," Bastion said.

"At least now there's one less Shadow Rider," Jeremy pointed out.

"And only nine left to go," Erik muttered.

"Yeah," Chazz agreed. "And we still don't know when these guys are coming, where they'll strike or even who they are."

"Atticus might not have been the only one forced into becoming a Shadow Rider," Zane added. "After all, there are other students who've gone missing."

"But how're we supposed to know who they are?" Chazz asked.

"I think I've got it," Alexis spoke up as she took out a flash drive. "Remember that guy Gerard who came over before the school duels?" Most of them nodded in confirmation. "Well, before leaving, he gave me this. I looked it over and it has a list of all the students who've gone missing from the abandoned dorm."

"I could use my computer to open up the files," Bastion suggested. "Then I can send you all the information on your PDA's."

Alexis passed Bastion the flash drive and stayed in the infirmary while he and the others went off in their own directions. "I'm just glad you're back, big brother," she muttered. "If I ever see the people who forced you into becoming a Shadow Rider, I'll make sure they don't forget it. And Jaden…" she said as she turned towards her Slifer friend. "I'm sorry for what you went through, but thanks for bringing my brother back."

* * *

Later on, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley were sitting at a table in the Slifer meal hall, along with the other students in red. "So you guys are thinking that there could be more students who were possessed and forced into becoming Shadow Riders?" Chumley asked. Jeremy nodded as he chewed on a mouthful of lasagna. "Whoa, now that's a scary thought."

"But beating Nightshroud freed Alexis' brother from him," Syrus reminded them. "So if the other ones are defeated, then they should return to normal as well."

"Good point," Jeremy said. "The more possessed Shadow Riders we beat, the more students that'll come back."

"So, do you know anything about the missing students?" Chumley inquired.

Jeremy picked up his PDA when it started beeping. "Okay, let's see…" the blond Slifer muttered as he looked at the student profiles. "Atticus, we already know about him." He scrolled further down the list and came up with the image of a light brown haired boy sporting a Blue blazer. "Yusuke Fujiwara. 18 years old, Obelisk Blue, disappeared halfway through his second year… that's it for him."

"That's not much," Syrus commented.

"Okay, next candidate." Jeremy brought up the next profile, showing a broad girl with shoulder length black hair, dark green eyes and a Ra Yellow uniform. "Julianne Creswell. Third year student, yellow dorm, age: 19, both parents are actors, bla, bla, bla. Last seen at… the Millennium House?"

"That must be the Abandoned Dorm," Chumley said.

"Yeah, with all that stuff about the millennium items and all," Syrus mentioned.

"Right. There's a bunch more of them down here. I'll just look it over in case I see a Shadow Rider I can't recognize." Jeremy put his PDA away and resumed eating.

"Umm, aren't you nervous at all?" Syrus asked, but merely received a quizzical look in response. "I mean, Nightshroud probably went for Jaden because they thought he was one of the weakest since he's a Slifer."

"And if that's the case, the next one's bound to go after you," Chumley pointed out.

"Please," he said nonchalantly. "If any of them think I'm easy meat just cause I'm wearing red, then these guys are in for a surprise."

* * *

Unknowingly to any of them, a mysterious figure was standing in a darkened cave, facing another who was obscured by the shadows. The one visible was of average height, strong build and vaguely feminine. "It appears that Nightshroud has failed," the unseen old man said.

"Let me go after them," the other one spoke in a confident and tough sounding voice. "I won't repeat his mistake."

"As you wish, Blank," the old man addressed her. "Now go, and fulfill your duty."

"Thank you, Master."

* * *

After having finished with eating, the three Slifer boys were hanging out in their room by themselves. While Syrus and Chumley were having a duel without disks, Jeremy was sitting on his bed, looking over the cards laid out before him. "Let's see here…" the blond boy muttered to himself. "If I used this monster, then this one while I had this spell card out, I could get a good combo. This other one here could really help me out, but it might create a minor setback for getting more monsters on the field."

"Hey Jeremy," Syrus spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"How's your deck coming along?"

"Pretty good, as it happens. Just making sure it's up to snuff for the next Shadow Rider." The blond boy put his cards together and stored them away in his deck case. "There, all done." He then got up, grabbed his duel disk lying on the floor and placed it on his left arm. "Look out, Shadow Riders, cause Jeremy Wheeler's ready and waiting for ya."

"Wonder when the next one's gonna come," Chumley said out loud.

The three of them were interrupted from their thoughts by the sound of someone knocking at the door. Syrus and Chumley looked at each other, then the door, and then each other again. "Tell me that's not a Shadow Rider," the smaller boy said.

Jeremy walked over to the door and opened it, revealing that it was actually Christine standing outside. "Hi Christine," he greeted the blue haired girl. "Syrus and Chumley were afraid you were a Shadow Rider."

"Well, as you can all see, I'm not," she replied. "And besides, I don't think they'd take the time to knock."

"Yeah, I doubt they would. So… what brings you over to the red dorm?"

"I wanted to cash in that favor you owe me."

"Favor?" Jeremy asked, confusion on his face.

"You know..." She then reached out and pulled on his ear for a split second.

"Ohhhhhh, that one. Sooooo… wadda you need me to do?"

"Actually, I just wanted you to come outside and walk with me."

Jeremy blinked, finding the request to be unexpected. "Okay."

"Alone," she added.

"Ummmm…" he uttered, blushing slightly at the same time as he had his hand on the back of his neck.

Syrus and Chumley snickered at their friend's embarrassment. "Christine and Jeremy sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-" The two boys stopped their singing upon seeing the murderous looks sent their way. "He did it!" they both said as they pointed to the other.

"Let's go," Jeremy muttered under his breath. The two of them then walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.

* * *

At the Obelisk boys' dorm, Erik was by himself on a couch in the common room. A few other students were in the same room, among which were two boys sitting across from each other, with a table in between, dueling without disks. But he simply ignored them, as he focused instead on his PDA, scrolling down the list of students who could potentially be Shadow Riders, looking for one in particular. "Sean's down at the bottom." Erik turned his head around and saw Zane standing behind him, as stoic as ever.

"How'd you know I'd be looking for him?" the younger student asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Just a hunch."

Erik scrolled down the list and came up with the image of a well built Obelisk boy with long messy blond hair that fell past his shoulders. His profile read: 'Sean Yoon Hee-Yong Kaumualii. Age: 16, Dorm: Obelisk, Year: First, Nationality: Korean/Hawaiian, Last seen: Millennium House. No further information.' "I was afraid of this," he muttered.

"He's tough," Zane stated. "For the time he was around, I was the only one who beat him."

"I know," Erik replied blankly. "But if he's a Shadow Rider, I'm facing him."

* * *

Jeremy was walking next to Christine, on a path not too far from a cliff. Evening was settling around them, bringing darkness along with it. But even so, there was still enough light so that they could see with ease. "That shadow game against Nightshroud was pretty freaky," Jeremy spoke up.

"Yeah," Christine agreed. "And the stakes weren't anything to laugh about. I mean, Jaden risking his soul, spirit key… and I doubt being in that weak bubble with Chumley and Syrus was exactly fun. Especially since it looked like it was going to disappear half the time."

"No joke. Then there's the duel itself and all those monster attacks. They must have hurt pretty bad if Jaden's still out of it."

"I just hope that the others don't get hurt like that." Christine shuddered slightly at the thought. Seeing this and thinking that she might be chilly, Jeremy removed his Slifer jacket and wrapped it around her.

"Here you go." With the absence of his jacket, he looked very similar to the way his father did at a younger age, down to the clothes he wore.

"Thanks," she muttered, a light blush tinting her cheeks when Jeremy settled an arm around her shoulders.

"No prob… are you blushing?" he asked, a confused expression on his face. Christine's cheeks reddened a little more at this. She then stopped moving, which prompted her friend to do the same. "Something wrong?"

"Jeremy…" She turned around to face him, her blush wiped away and replaced with a determined expression. "There's something I have to tell you."

"Okaaaaayyyyyyy. So, what is it?" The Slifer boy asked, as he stood face to face with her.

"Well… it's just that… you're a really great friend. And for some time now… I've felt that-"

Jeremy's medallion suddenly began to glow. Then, to their surprise, a cage made of bluish white energy unexpectedly appeared around him, cutting him off from the Obelisk girl. "What the-?" He tried to pull on the bars, but they remained unbending.

A loud booming laugh resounded in the area. "_**Prepare yourself, key keeper.**_"

"Shadow Rider!" Christine said in realization.

"_**It's time for the second shadow game to begin.**_" The cage then began to shine brightly, forcing the Obelisk girl to avert her eyes. And when she opened them up again, she was completely alone.

"Jeremy…" Christine then quickly began typing a message on her PDA.

* * *

The Slifer boy in question opened his eyes, and found himself in a setting rather different from Academy Island. He was surrounded on all sides, trapped in a cage made of bluish white energy similar to the first, except that this one was hanging from the ceiling of a darkened, featureless room. "What kind of place is this?"

As if to answer that question, the ceiling began to open up at the same time as the cage was pulled upward. Jeremy kept moving until he cleared the hole above him, then stared in surprise at his surroundings. He was now in the middle of a large coliseum, with a large circular area seemingly reserved for combatants, and high walls that separated this spot from where the audience would be. There were many rows of seats, including a single throne like chair in the middle of a boxed in area. This structure was completed by a dome like ceiling, and lit by an unseen source.

The surroundings looked as though they belonged in ancient Rome, but apart from the ground, which was flattened with light colored sand, everything else was an eerie ghost like color. As Jeremy took this in, a hole opened up opposite him and a platform rose through, on which a dark, broad figure was standing. The person's apparel consisted of a jacket, slacks and boots which seemed fit for the army, as well as a simple mask that covered their entire face and an Academy duel disk on the left arm. This individual appeared to be feminine, though it was practically impossible to guess anything more, with her clothing being uniformly black, along with hair that fell below her shoulders.

"Welcome to the phantom coliseum, key keeper" the presumed Shadow Rider spoke up when the platform became level with the rest of the ground.

"Okay, I guess there's no point in me asking what you are, since it's obvious you're a Shadow Rider. So instead… who are you?"

"My name is Blank," she answered. "I will be your opponent in this shadow game."

"And I'm Jeremy. Now lemme outta this thing so we can get on with the duel."

The Shadow Rider waved her hand, at which the energy cage disappeared. "Interesting medallion," she commented upon seeing the object in question around his neck. "I think I'll take it for myself after defeating you, as well as your spirit key. Also, your soul will be fed to my ghostly friends." The empty seats suddenly ceased to be so, as they were filled with transparent figures that could only be described as ghosts.

"Not happening. My soul, spirit key and medallion will be staying right with me."

"That is, if you win. In which case, you'll go free and my soul will be taken by the arena's audience. But the odds of that happening aren't exactly high." She then pulled out a duel monsters deck which she inserted into her disk. "Oh, and by the way, key keeper, I've taken the liberty of making sure that your friend can see your demise."

"You're the one that's going down," Jeremy replied as he put in his own deck.

"Duel!" The two duelists started their disks and drew their starting hands.

Blank: 4000

Jeremy: 4000

"I summon Zombyra the Dark in attack mode." A muscular man in a blue suit appeared. He had bone armor about him, along with a horned helmet and a red cape with its interior purple. (2100) "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn then. And I summon Marauding Captain." The blond warrior with two swords rose in front of Jeremy (1200) "And with his effect, I can summon another level four or below monster from my hand." Blank laughed at this. "What's so funny?"

"Fool. You're in deeper than you can even imagine. Your monsters are powerless against what I have prepared, and now, you will see why. I reveal the trap, Skill Drain."

"Not that one!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"By giving up 1000 life-points, the effects of all monsters are negated."

Blank: 4000-3000

A transparent ghostly figure rose from the ground and flew through the captain's body, before fading away. "This stinks!" 'Not fun,' Jeremy thought to himself. 'That Skill Drain just threw off my move. And it'll probably keep getting in my way.' "Alright then, I play Allied Forces, giving my captain another 200 points." (1200-1400) "I'll throw this face-down and hand things over to you."

"I summon Dark Elf in attack mode." A woman emerged next to the dark warrior. She wore a long green robe, had long purple hair and a golden headpiece. (2000) "Normally I'd lose 1000 life-points each time she attacked, and Zombyra couldn't attack directly and would lose 200 points for every monster he destroyed. However, with Skill Drain on the field, I can bypass those nasty little side effects."

'Great,' Jeremy thought sarcastically. 'Not only is she stopping me from using my monsters' effects, but she can also play powerful monsters without the backlash they'd normally come with.'

"Now, Dark Elf, wipe out his Marauding Captain with Magic Cannon." The feminine monster conjured bright pink energy in her hands, which then split into many fragments. Jeremy's warrior was struck down by most of these pieces, giving way for the others to zap the Slifer duelist's chest.

Jeremy: 4000-3400

"Ouch, that hurt."

"Too bad for you, but this is about to hurt a lot more. Zombyra, attack him directly." The dark fighter charged forward with his fist pulled back, then punched Jeremy in the cheek hard enough to knock him down and send him sliding back a distance.

Jeremy: 3400-1300

"I'll end my turn."

Jeremy got to his feet and shook his head, his cheek stinging madly. "I reveal my face-down, Swiftstrike Armor. During my draw phase, when I get a six samurai monster, I can automatically summon it. So meet The Six Samurai Irou." The dark shadowy samurai rose on Jeremy's field. (1700) "And to accompany him, I'll also summon The Six Samurai Zanji." Jeremy's red gold armoured warrior appeared to his ally. (1800) "And with Allied Forces still out, they each gain 400 attack points." (1700-2100) (1800-2200) "That gives them just enough to edge out both your monsters." Zanji charged forward and impaled Zombyra in the torso with his sword tipped spear, while Irou dashed at the Dark Elf and caused her to explode in a shower of pixels with a swing of his sword.

Blank: 3000-2800

"That's it for now."

"Not bad, punk," Blank commented. "But as tough as your monsters may be, mine are even bigger. I summon Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast." The metal monster that appeared was shaped like a red dragon with a beige underbelly, but instead of legs, were a pair of tracks. It was complete with two cannons level with its shoulders and one on each side of its head. (2800)

"What!" Jeremy exclaimed in surprise. "But that's a seven star monster. How could you summon it just like that?"

"I can summon it without a sacrifice so long as I cut its attack points in half. But since I have Skill Drain, that effect is negated once it hits the field. Now, attack his Samurai Irou. Artillery Barrage." The mechanical dragon fired a shell from each of its cannons which exploded on Jeremy's field, destroying his named warrior and blowing him off his feet again.

Jeremy: 1300-600

"And with him gone, Zanji loses 200 attack points." (2200-2000) "I'll just go ahead and end my turn with one card face-down."

"Damn," Jeremy muttered to himself. "Those attacks are really hitting hard. I'd better get something to turn the duel around. Here goes. I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Then I summon Chamberlain of the Six Samurai in defense mode." The metal limbed warrior sat down beside his ally, his presence giving both of them a power boost. (200-600/2000) (2000-2200) "Next I'll set this little number face-down and equip Zanji with Mage Power. Giving him 500 more attack points for each of my spell and trap cards." (2200-4200) "Go, Samurai's Strike of Honor." Zanji rushed forward, weapon ready to strike.

"I play Threatening Roar." The metal dragon roared loudly, to the point that the incoming warrior was halted in his tracks.

"Bummer. I end my turn."

"Pathetic," the Shadow Rider jeered. "I summon Jirai Gumo." A large, vicious brown spider appeared next to the mechanical creature. (2200) "Then I activate Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding one card from my hand, Zanji is destroyed. And of course, you can't use his effect to save him." A horde of mummies emerged from the ground, surrounding the powered up warrior.

"Not so fast. I reveal Mystic Wok. And by sacrificing Zanji, I regain life-points equal to his attack points." The samurai in question disappeared before the mummies reached him, his energy refilling Jeremy's life-points.

Jeremy: 600-4800

"You may have escaped that shot, but you won't be avoiding this. Jirai, destroy his Chamberlain." The large insect monster scurried forward and leapt onto the defending monster, crushing him in a deadly embrace. "Fusilier Dragon, pound his life-points with Artillery Barrage." Blank's machine monster fired another salve of shells from each of its cannons. He was thrown off his feet by the explosion and landed on the ground with a thud.

Jeremy: 4800-2000

"I'll place one card face-down. When you decide to get up, it's your turn."

* * *

Christine stood where she'd been since Jeremy's disappearance. A screen floating in mid air had appeared shortly after her friend's impromptu departure, allowing for her to see the shadow game in progress. She cringed at the sight of him being beaten up by his opponent's monsters. "Christine!" The Obelisk girl turned her attention towards the voice and saw Erik, Zane, Bastion, Chazz, Syrus and Chumley running towards her.

"We got your message," Syrus said.

"And we felt our spirit gate keys warning us about the Shadow Rider," Zane added.

"What happened?" Erik asked.

"Jeremy and I were out walking when a strange cage suddenly appeared around him and then snatched him away."

"Come again?" Chazz spoke up.

"Now he's stuck in a shadow game." She pointed to the screen, showing Jeremy in a not so optimal condition.

"Whoa!" Chumley exclaimed.

"This doesn't look good," Bastion noted.

* * *

In the ghostly coliseum, Jeremy was just getting to his feet, despite the beating he'd taken so far. "It's official, that was not cool."

"Is that so?" Blank asked in a mocking tone. "Because from where I'm standing, I find the duel's really fun."

"Then I guess it's time to do something about that. I activate Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until we have six cards." Jeremy picked up five cards while his opponent drew the full six. "Then I remove from play my Chamberlain and Irou so I can summon Enishi, Shien's Chancellor." The warrior Jeremy had used to defeat Dimitri appeared before him, arms crossed, katana and long knife at his belt, and sporting a serious expression. (2200) "And with Allied Forces, he gets 200 extra points." (2200-2400) "Now squash that overgrown spider." Enishi unsheathed his katana, charged forward and lopped off the enemy insect's head.

Blank: 2800-2600

"Pff!" Blank scoffed. "200 points is nothing. Your monster's still weaker than mine."

"It won't be around after I play Fissure. This destroys my opponent's monster with the lowest attack points. Of course, since Jirai Gumo's out of the way, Fusilier Dragon is history." A large crevice appeared under the machine, and closed after swallowing it up.

"That may be, but I have Shattered Axe. This causes your monster to lose 500 attack points during each of my standby phases."

"I'll throw this face-down and call it a turn."

"So be it." A few small cracks appeared on Enishi's unsheathed katana. (2400-1900) "I summon Beast King Barbaros." A big creature with a black, four legged lower body, muscular upper half and lion's head appeared on Blank's field, standing taller than Jeremy's warrior. In addition, he carried a red lance in one hand and a round, blue shield in another. (3000)

"All right, what's the catch this time?"

"I can summon him without a sacrifice so long as I reduce his attack points to 1900. Of course, Skill Drain is still in play. Next, I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down." A blue typhoon shot out from the named spell card and blew away Jeremy's face-down. "I also play Shrink, to cut your monster's attack points in half." The samurai duellist's only monster suddenly shrunk to half his previous size, losing points along the way. (1900-950) "Now, Beast King Barbados, finish him." Blank's powerful beast-warrior pulled back its lance arm, preparing to strike.

"Not so fast!" Jeremy interrupted. "I activate Shadow of the Six Samurai's effect. This reduces all my damage this turn to zero. And since it works by sending him from my hand to the graveyard, Skill Drain can't touch him." Barbaros thrust forward with its lance, spearing down Enishi. Fortunately for Jeremy, the shadowy warrior appeared in front of him to prevent the blow from going any further.

"I end my turn by playing The Dark Door, so both of us can only attack with one monster each turn."

'This is bad,' Jeremy thought to himself. 'Whenever I manage to bring out a good monster and go on the offensive, she summons up one that even stronger that the last. Still, I have to keep trying.' "Alright. I play Graceful Charity, so I draw three cards and discard two." 'Well, if my offense is jammed, then I guess I'll just have to go on the defensive.' "Now I play Monster Reborn to bring back Zanji." The red gold armoured warrior reappeared from the graveyard. (1800) "Next I'll sacrifice him to summon Izura, Shien's Guard." A blond woman clad in bright red samurai armor sat down with her legs crossed while holding a crossbow. (2-200/3000) "I'll put this little number face-down and call it a turn."

"That's all huh?"

"Yeah. Good luck getting through her."

"Just you wait. I pass, but I'll finish you off soon enough."

"You wish." 'At least with Izura defending me, I'll be able to keep her away from my life-points. Hopefully long enough to come up with a strategy that'll let me get the best of her. "I draw... and end my turn."

"I play Pot of Greed, to draw two cards." Blank smirked as she saw what she now held.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Jeremy muttered.

"I remove from play Beast King Barbaros from my field and Machine Lord Ür from my hand. Now I can summon the supreme..." A red, vaguely humanoid machine monster appeared beside the beast-warrior. It then broke apart, its pieces attaching themselves to Barbaros so as to give him armor. When it was finished, the new monster had Machine Lord Ür's arms attached over his own. "Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür." (3800)

"Oh boy."

"I'm afraid things are about to get worse. Well... for you. I equip my monster with Axe of Despair and Fairy Meteor Crush." A sinister looking axe appeared at the creature's waist. "Now he gains 1000 attack points and can do damage through defending monsters." (3800-4800) "Obliterate that Shien's Guard." The monster's machine arms began glowing as they were charging. That done, Barbaros shot out two massive balls of energy. The first destroyed Izura, giving way for the second which struck Jeremy head on, sending him flying into the arena wall, before he fell down.

Jeremy: 2000-200

"If that's all you have, then you don't have a chance, key keeper!"

* * *

The students watching the floating screen cringed at the sight of Jeremy's condition. "Aww man!"

"Not lishus!"

"This isn't good," Bastion pointed out.

Erik and Zane merely frowned.

"Looks like he's toast," Chazz mumbled.

"Don't you say that, Chazz!" Christine said.

"Just look at the field. That Shadow Rider has a monster with 4800 attack points, Jeremy has none, hardly any life-points and he can't use any of his monsters' effects."

"That doesn't mean he can't pull through." 'Come on, Jeremy. Come on.'

In the infirmary, Jaden's half medallion suddenly began to glow faintly. Alexis saw this and turned her attention away from the duel which was being transmitted on her PDA for her to watch. "What's going on?" she wondered.

* * *

Lying face-down on the ground, Jeremy could feel a trickle of warmth being fed from his medallion into him. Though not much, it was still enough for him to get to hands and knees, then shakily stand up. "Still got some fight left in you?"

"You'd better believe it! My draw!" Jeremy looked at the card he'd just picked up and smiled slightly. "I reveal my face-down, Backs to the Wall. By bringing my life-points down to a hundred, every six samurai monster in my grave comes back."

Jeremy: 200-100

Zanji, the Hand of the Six Samurai, Kamon and the Shadow of the Six Samurai all rose from the ground, standing tall on Jeremy's field. (1800) (1600) (1500) (200) "And when I have two or more six samurai monsters on the field, I can automatically summon Great Shogun Shien from my hand." The gathered samurais bowed as their warlord appeared in their midst. (2500) All the warriors' attack points jumped up from Allied Forces. (200-1200) (1500-2500) (1600-2600) (1800-2800) (2500-3500)

"It doesn't matter how many monsters you have, mine are too powerful. Even with Allied Forces, your Shogun doesn't stand a chance."

"You know what, sheer power is one thing, but there's also strength in numbers. And I'm about to prove that to you. First, I play my Hidden Armory spell card. So by sending the top card of my deck to the graveyard, I can take an equip spell from my deck or grave and move it to my hand." Jeremy tossed out his deck's top card and searched through until taking out what he wanted. "Thanks to that, I can activate United we Stand. And by equipping this to my Shogun, he gets 800 extra attack points for every single face-up monster on my field. Which adds up to a total of 4000!"

The Shadow Rider's shock could almost be seen through her mask. "No way!"

"Yes way!" Shien gave out a roar as he began to glow with an aura of power. (3500-7500) "Now show im what you got and attack Machine Beast King Barbaros Ür. Great Master's Blade." The red armored warlord charged forward and cut down his enemy with one mighty swing of his sword.

Blank: 2600-0

The female Shadow Rider fell to the ground in defeat. Jeremy put his arms up as the surroundings were suddenly ablaze with light.

* * *

The duel's audience were relieved to see Jeremy win, yet surprised when the screen relaying the duel to them suddenly disappeared. "What?" Chumley and Syrus said in confusion.

"Where's-" Christine began but stopped when Jeremy was suddenly standing a few feet away from them.

"Hi, I'm gonna pass out now," Jeremy managed to articulate, before falling on the ground, unconscious. The Obelisk girl rushed towards her friend, making sure that he was okay.

"Well?" Erik asked.

Christine let out a sigh of relief. "He's bruised and exhausted, but he should be alright. He'll still need help though."

"We're on it." Syrus and Chumley then began running to the Academy's central building to get help.

"Look over here," Zane said, standing next to another unconscious figure. He pulled off the mask, revealing an older girl with dark green eyes.

"It must be one of the missing students," Chazz pointed out.

Bastion pulled out his PDA and scanned the list of students until coming up with a matching face. "I've got it. Julianne Creswell."

"Now we've got one less Shadow Rider to worry about," Erik stated.

"But even so, Jaden and Jeremy will be out of action for a while," Zane continued.

"That's what the rest of us are here for," Christine said.

* * *

Okay, as usual, hope you liked it and please review. To anyone who could guess, I'll soon be introducing Joshua Chung's OC in this fic. Thanks to Duelist of Dawn for his help in the making of this chapter.

**Next chapter: **Someone call Van Helsing, there's a vampire on the loose.


	36. Revenge of the Vampire Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX. It's just that simple.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Revenge of the Vampire – Part 1**

During a dark and dimly lit night, a crescent moon hung over a lake. Fog lay overtop the water, draping it in an eerie blanket as a long boat glided across, accompanied by a horde of flying bats. A coffin lying inside the boat creaked as its lid slid open and a woman with long hair and blood red lips sat up. She looked at her surroundings and smiled wickedly, at the same time as an evil laugh escaped her lips.

* * *

Jaden sat upright as he awoke from his nightmare, clutching his sides. "Jaden!" Syrus exclaimed from his seat right next to his friend's hospital bed. "Are you okay?"

"Oh man," the hero duelist mumbled. "Weird dream. I saw a girl."

"A girl?" Syrus wondered.

"You must be feeling better if you're dreaming about girls," Miss Fontaine said as she came into view.

"How is Nightshroud- I mean, Alexis' brother?"

The Obelisk girls' headmistress looked to the right, where Alexis was sitting next to her brother who was still immobile in his bed. "I'm afraid he hasn't woken up yet. But still, he's in stable condition."

Jaden then took note of Jeremy who was unconscious on another bed in the infirmary. Christine was sitting in a chair next to the blond boy, looking sadly at him and the bruises he'd gained as a result of the attacks aimed at him. "What happened to Jeremy?"

The blue haired girl turned around to look at the brunette Slifer. "He got forced into a shadow game against another possessed student during the time you were knocked out," she explained, pointing to the unconscious form of the former Shadow Rider. "He won the duel, but passed out not too long afterwards and he's been like this since."

"Whoa."

"Girl… evil… approaches," Jeremy muttered in his sleep, then returned to a state of full unconsciousness.

On the lake, the boat from Jaden's dream was going along silently. The woman in the coffin raised her arm as she commanded the bats to do her bidding. "Go, my minions. Find me my prey. So that we can succeed where Blank and Nightshroud have failed." She held up a rose in her hands and smiled as she watched her bats fly away.

* * *

During the following day, news of a strange vampire had already begun to blossom all over the island. "Hey, did you hear about the vampire?"

"Vampire?"

"Dude! I saw her with my own eyes! Or at least, my roommate did. She's got these gigantic fangs."

"Wait! Are you saying it's a she?"

"I am so not kidding, it's a girl vampire!"

"But she better stay away from my boyfriend!"

Word of this eventually reached Chancellor Sheppard's ears, who called Chazz, Zane, Erik, Bastion, Crowler and Banner to his office because of it. "Vampire!" Chazz said in surprise after hearing Sheppard's suspicions.

"I'm afraid the rumors may not be rumors after all."

"Oh my," Banner muttered.

"Puh-lease," Crowler said. "It's a practical joke."

"A joke?" Bastion asked doubtfully. "It wasn't a joke that put Jaden and Jeremy in the hospital."

"Do you think this vampire lady's a Shadow Rider?" Zane inquired.

"Perhaps."

"Great," Erik said sarcastically.

"Be on the lookout for anything suspicious." Crowler and Banner looked to each other nervously, while the others simply nodded at this.

* * *

Later on, Chazz was sitting in his room at the Slifer dorm, with his cards laid out on the floor while deciding how to arrange his deck. "Let's see this vampire girl try to get the drop on the Chazz." He was too focused on his cards, that he was unaware of the bat hanging from the rafters, looking down at him with glowing red eyes.

* * *

At the same time, Bastion was in his own room, sitting at his desk, choosing which cards to use and which to set aside. He was also being spied on by another bat, this one looking at him through his window.

* * *

Erik was sitting down at a desk in his room with his deck strewn out before him. "Vampire…" he mused. "With something as unexpected as that, I've got to make sure my deck is ready." He then chanced to turn around and opened the curtains at his window all the way. "Hmm, I was sure I saw something there," he muttered to himself, unaware that another flying bat had been secretly watching him through a crack.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Obelisk boys' dorm, Zane was sitting down while going over his own cards. But like all the others, he was unknowingly being watched.

* * *

"A vampire?" Crowler said to himself as he sat in his office. "What's next? The boogeyman? Who would believe something so ridiculous?" As he was mumbling, a fifth bat was hanging upside down, surveying him through the window.

* * *

As for Banner, he was sitting in front of a mirror in his own room. Strings of garlic bulbs were hanging from the ceiling, candles were lit on the floor and he was dressed in an odd manner, while waving an equally strange stick in the air. "Stay away," he spoke up. "I know you're out there. I have a huge horror movie collection, I know all your weak spots, I am ready for you." The bat watching almost sweatdropped upon seeing this, but then lost interest and flew away to its mistress.

* * *

Back in the infirmary, Alexis stood up from her seat and walked over to Syrus, who was still sitting next to Jaden. "How's he doing?" she asked the small Slifer boy.

"He hasn't said anything since last night," he answered sadly.

"Oh…"

"How's your brother, Alexis?"

The Obelisk girl in question shook her head. "Pretty much the same. But he'll get better. I know it, he's a fighter, you know?"

Syrus nodded at this. "I know."

Alexis then turned towards her Obelisk friend who was still next to Jeremy's bed. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Christine responded.

"And Jeremy?"

"Like Jaden. He's taken a beating, but he'll get through… eventually."

Alexis looked at her friend for a moment, before speaking softly enough so that only the two of them could hear. "I don't mean to pry, but what were you and Jeremy doing before he got taken away for that shadow game?"

The blue haired girl looked back at her for a moment before answering in an equally soft voice. "You know that talk we had before Jaden's duel against Nightshroud?" Alexis nodded in confirmation. "Well… I went over to the Slifer dorm and brought Jeremy outside to walk with me so we could be alone for a while." Christine paused briefly and then continued. "I wanted to confess how I really felt about him… but that Shadow Rider took him away before I could get to it."

Alexis looked at her friend with a sympathetic expression. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get your chance and that everything will be alright." Christine merely nodded at this. "I just hope that the others don't get it as bad in their duels. After all, it sounds as if the next Shadow Rider is already here."

Not only was that true, but they were also being watched by another of her bats.

* * *

As for the vampire mistress in question, she was in an empty bathroom, lying in a bathtub. She held out her hand as one of the bats came flying in and landed on it. "My precious. What did you bring for me?" Its eyes glowed red, at the same time as its owner's. Images of the key-keepers appeared in her mind. "So this is our opposition. Hmm… who shall it be?" She then settled on the image of a dark haired Obelisk boy with a stern expression. "You… you will be my first."

* * *

Later on, the spirit key holders, apart from Alexis, Christine, Jaden and Jeremy were standing before Chancellor Sheppard in his office. "Good news Chancellor," Chazz announced. "I've searched the whole campus, and there's no-"

"VAMPIRE!" Chumley shouted as he came running in the office, stopping in front of the key-keepers. "I saw her! She's at the lake!"

* * *

Along with Chumley, the same key-keepers walked through the forest and stopped at the edge of the lake, shrouded in fog while a crescent moon hung in the sky. A sleek red carpet rolled out from within the fog up to them. "I think she's expecting us," Bastion commented.

"At least it's the red carpet treatment," Crowler said.

"Crimson red," Zane noted.

"Isn't that fitting?" Erik muttered.

"What now?" Bastion wondered.

"Now we face her," Zane stated.

"Yeah, but who?" Chazz asked.

Banner and Crowler backed away from the lake, but then happened to bump into each other, causing the Obelisk headmaster to leap forward in fright and stand in front of the group. "Oh wow, you are so brave," Chumley remarked.

"We'll be right behind you," Bastion said supportively.

"Yes, by a good ten feet," Banner added.

"Hey, I have an idea," Crowler said as he turned around. "Let's draw straws to see who goes first. Now, where can we find straws? Oh, never you mind. I'll find them, just don't follow me."

"Sorry Crowler," Erik spoke up. "But you're up."

* * *

"Syrus!" Chumley called out as he ran into the infirmary. "Crowler's going to duel against the vampire lady!"

"Good, he'll beat her easy, right?"

"Wrong, Sy," Alexis said. "Crowler may talk a big game, but he plays a terrible one."

"If this Shadow Rider's as tough as any of the others, then he'll get creamed," Christine added.

* * *

Crowler stood in front of the red carpet, whimpering nervously. "What's the hold up?" Chazz asked.

"If you're in such a hurry, why don't you go first?"

A wind suddenly came up, blowing away some of the fog, opening up a corridor that led up to a boat sitting at the other end of the carpet. A beautiful woman with long green hair stood on the boat, wearing a crimson red dress split at the lower part, a duel disk and a collar around her neck. "Gentlemen," she spoke in a Transylvanian accent. "Why don't I just come to you?" She stepped out of the boat and onto the carpet, water rippling outward with each step. She had a look of disgust when she stopped a short distance from Crowler. "And who might you be?"

"I'm your challenger," he answered in a nervous tone.

'I don't think so,' she thought to herself. 'I crave another.'

"You are not worthy."

"I BEG YOUR PARDON!" Crowler shouted. "I have a PHD in dueling! That takes nine years in duel school, you know!"

"Fine," she said in a bored tone. "If you're that anxious to lose your key, then you may duel me, Camula, vampire mistress of the Shadow Riders." Her eyes briefly glowed red as a horde of bats appeared out from the fog.

"So she's the vampire," Banner noted. "I need to get new horror movies."

"Rubber bats and plastic teeth," Crowler said. "Your tricks don't scare me."

"Well then, perhaps this will. If you lose, I get your soul. Actually, this little doll does." She held up a small faceless doll.

"You want to take his soul and the key?" Bastion asked in disbelief.

"Forget it!" Chazz said.

"Is that all?" Crowler asked, not really scared by her conditions. "Don't want anything for you mummy? Or perhaps something for your pet werewolf to chew on."

Camula grinned wickedly at this. "Be careful what you wish for, it may just come true. Now then, key-keeper, let's duel!" She then walked off the carpet and stood opposite Crowler, at a distance that the others wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. Camula's disk, seemingly a bracelet at first glance, suddenly sprouted bat like wings with spaces for playing cards. Crowler's duel vest turned on at the same time and both duelists drew their starting hands.

Camula: 4000

Crowler: 4000

"So, key-keeper," the vampire mistress spoke up as she drew a sixth card. "You don't believe in werewolves? Well, perhaps this will convince you. Rise, Zombie Werewolf." A gray furred werewolf with red eyes, shackles dangling from its wrists and wearing tattered green pants stood up on its hind legs. (1200) "And I'll end my turn with a face-down card."

"Please, what do you take me for, some sort or pathetic amateur? That face-down is obviously a trap. And that mangy fleabag is clearly the bait. But even so, I'll bite. Because you've bitten off more than you can chew. First, I summon Ancient Gear Knight." A humanoid machine monster similar to the Ancient Gear Soldier appeared on Crowler's field, safe that it carried a thick shield in the left arm and its right one had a lance connected to it. (1800) "Now, since he's a Gemini, my knight is treated as a normal monster when on my field on in the graveyard."

"Gemini?" Chazz wondered, apparently confused at this.

"Like Crowler said, a monster that's treated as a normal monster when on the field or the graveyard," Erik explained "But when it's on the field, you can normal summon it to gain an effect."

"That's right," Crowler said. "And thanks to Double Summon, my knight can become just like my other Ancient Gear monsters." A thin white aura appeared around the machine creature. "And when he attacks, you can't activate any spells or traps. Now, Camula, I think it's time we gave that filthy slobbering mongrel of yours his needle. Attack!" The mechanical creature charged forward and impaled the werewolf in its torso.

Camula: 4000-3400

"I guess that Crowler is more of a cat person," Zane remarked.

"That was fun!" the Obelisk headmaster exclaimed. "I should get out of the classroom more often!"

"On the contrary," Camula spoke up. "You should study up. Then you'd know, my werewolf is coming back." The Zombie Werewolf let out a howl as it returned, but even stronger than before. (1200-1700)

"But how?"

"Ahh, the living. I forget the ignorance of a beating heart. When Zombie Werewolf is destroyed, I get to summon another from my deck with 500 more attack points."

"And he… teaches us?" Chazz said in disbelief.

"Don't worry," Crowler tried to reassure them. "Everything is under control. I place one card face-down. I guess it's your turn."

"Why thank you. And I summon Vampire Bat in attack mode." A large dark gray bat appeared next to Camula's other creature. (800) "And with my winged friend on the field, every zombie monster I control gains 200 attack points." The bat and werewolf were then surrounded by a dark aura that powered them up. (800-1000) (1700-1900)

"Don't the three of you look so cute. You know, if you had bags, you could go trick or treating."

"The only treat will be your demise. Zombie Werewolf, go sic that Gear Knight. Midnight Pounce." The lycanthrope leapt forward and bit into the metal man's lance arm, causing it to explode and send back the attacking creature.

Crowler: 4000-3900

"Well, well. It would appear that your mutt still has some bite in him after all," Crowler commented. "No matter, I still have more life-points."

"Perhaps, but not for much longer. Vampire Bat, attack with Swarming Scourge." The weaker zombie then split apart into a flock of miniature bats which flew towards Crowler and bit into him.

The Obelisk professor fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain. 'I can actually feel their little teeth! This isn't some dueling hologram, this is real! And that can only mean one thing… this is really a shadow game too!'

Crowler: 3900-2900

* * *

"Crowler's taking a beating," Syrus remarked, as he and the others in the infirmary were watching the duel being transmitted to them on his PDA.

"No, he can't!" Alexis said. "If he doesn't win, he'll lose his key and his soul. What'll we do?"

* * *

Now done with attacking, the swarm of bats flew back to their side of the field and fused into the large one. Camula laughed at her opponent's predicament. "For rubber bats, they pack quite a wallop, don't they? Listen, dear, you don't have to endure this. Step down and I'll duel that one in white."

"You hear that, Zane?" Chazz asked. "Sounds like you're her type."

"Yes, or her blood type," Banner added.

"So how about it? Give me your student and I'll let you go free."

"As tempting as that may be," Crowler said as he struggled to get to his feet. "I don't think so! I won't let you lay a finger on my students! Do you understand! I am the leading professor at the most famous dueling academy in the world! And if you want to get to my students, you'll have to get through yours truly!"

"But, you can hardly stand," Chazz noted.

"Don't worry about me. I still have a deck in my hand and a few tricks up my sleeve. Like this for example. I play my face-down card, Damage Condenser. By getting rid of a card in my hand, it summons a monster from my deck whose attack points are equal or lower than the damage you've just inflicted on me. In other words, the more pain you deal, the more hurt you'll feel. Rise, Ancient Gear Cannon." A metal contraption with a set of cannon barrels mounted on gears appeared in front of Crowler. (500)

"Very well, I end my turn."

"And I'll begin mine by playing Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Then I sacrifice Ancient Gear Cannon to deal to you 500 points of damage and prevent either of us from using traps during the battle phase of this turn." The named monster exploded in a flurry of orange pellets which struck Camula, though it seemingly did little to faze her.

Camula: 3400-2900

"Next I play my Ancient Gear Castle." A castle made of sand colored stone appeared, complete with turrets and other fortifications. "And I also play the field spell Geartown." The surroundings were suddenly changed so that everyone stood in the streets of an old looking town filled with machinery and gears. "This reduces the number of sacrifices needed to summon an ancient gear monster by one. So I can bring out my own four legged friend, Ancient Gear Beast." A dog made of a collection of gears with metal plating appeared on Crowler's field. (2000-2300) "Of course, because of my castle, he gains 300 attack points. And as you're about to see, he's well trained. Go, Ancient Gear Beast, show that Zombie Werewolf who's top dog."

"Don't do it!" Chazz warned him. "If you win that battle, she'll just bring back the werewolf all over again. Hello!"

"Appreciate the advice, but you're forgetting his special ability. Ancient Gear Beast negates the effect of any destroyed monster."

"Clever calculation," Bastion commented.

"Yes, good thinking," Banner remarked.

"Now, attack Zombie Werewolf." The metal hound pounced on the werewolf and bit down on its side.

Camula: 2900-2500

"If you'd like some held with your dueling strategy, feel free to stop by my class."

"Maybe Crowler's lesson plans really do work," Chazz said.

"Quiet," Bastion spoke up. "He'll only give us more homework."

"Nice move," Camula commented as she drew. "Pity you won't have many more. I sacrifice Vampire Bat to summon Ryu Kokki." The large bat was then replaced by a hideous looking monster made of skulls and other skeletal body parts. (2400) "Attack that beast." Camula's creature lunged at the metal dog and crushed it in a deadly embrace.

Crowler: 2900-2800

"I end my turn with a face-down."

"With my Geartown still in play, I can now summon Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera." A large green and gray metal monster with four legs and a long tail rose up on Crowler's field. It had three different heads perched on its shoulders, and a fourth one at the end of its tail. (2300-2600) "Attack that… thing," he ordered, pointing to Ryu Kokki. The metal creature charged forward and crashed through the amalgamation of bones, which dissolved into dust.

Camula: 2500-2300

"Alright, now she's defenseless," Chazz pointed out.

"But not for long. I reveal my trap, Zombie Resurrection. When one of my zombie type monsters is destroyed in battle, I can summon one from my graveyard, provided it has less attack points. And I choose, Vampire Bat." The large grayish bat reappeared on the vampire mistress' field. (800-1000)

"Okay then… I end my turn."

"And I cast the field spell Infernalvania." The mechanical city crumbled into nothingness and as a dark Transylvanian castle appeared behind in the distance behind Camula.

"When you destroy Geartown, I can summon any ancient gear monster I want. Rise, Ancient Gear Golem." Crowler's signature monster stood up on the field. (3000-3300)

"It won't matter. Because with Infernalvania, I can discard a zombie monster from my hand and send every creature on the field straight to the graveyard."

"But don't you forget, by using Infernalvania, you're not going to be allowed to normal summon your monsters anymore," Chazz pointed out.

"So what? Who says I need any more monsters? Isn't that right?" she asked Crowler.

"Don't play games with me. I know all about that bat of yours," the Obelisk's headmaster said.

"But do your students? Do they know my vampire bat can be made indestructible by simply discarding another one from my deck? Or did you skip that chapter?"

The onlookers gasped at this revelation. "Oh dear!" Bastion exclaimed.

"But first, I'll discard one of my zombie monsters for Infernalvania." A man in with blue hair and wearing a dark suit and cape appeared briefly, before disappearing as Infernalvania began to glow. Both monsters then exploded, although Vampire Bat left behind a bunch of flower petals. "And I'll just get rid of another Vampire Bat in my deck to keep this one on the field." The flower petals came together to reform the winged creature. "Now attack the good professor!"

Crowler was once again surrounded by a flock of angry bats. "No! Not again! I can't take much more of this!"

Crowler: 2800-1800

"He needs our help!" Zane spoke up.

"No, stay back. This is my duel, and my duel alone. You must protect your keys." The Obelisk headmaster then fell to the ground.

"Crowler, we can't just stand here and do nothing!"

"Yes, I completely agree with you, darling," Camula said, looking at Zane. "Please step in. Save your teacher, because obviously he can't save himself."

"WRONG!" Jaden's voice came up. Chumley and Syrus stopped amongst those watching the ongoing duel, the former letting Jaden down, who he'd been carrying on his back. "Dr. Crowler can win this duel."

"I know that voice," Crowler muttered. "It's slacker."

"I know because I've dueled him. Believe me, he can throw down, and he'll find a way to beat you. So get up, Dr. Crowler, and get your game on!"

Hearing those words of encouragement gave Crowler the motivation to get to his feet. "I am not giving up!"

"Oh, are you still here?"

"You had better believe it! And here to stay too, missy! You see, though it makes me slightly ill to admit it, JADEN IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! I CAN BEAT YOU! I CAN THROW DOWN AND I CAN GET MY GAME ON! I suddenly feel the need to rinse my mouth out."

"Come on, it's not that bad, teach," Jaden said.

"Yes, perhaps," Bastion admitted. "But you know what is? His life-points."

"Crowler will have to mount a comeback," Erik stated.

"Now, let's get back to the duel," Crowler said as he drew his card. "I play Ancient Gear Workshop, allowing me to take an ancient gear monster from my graveyard and put it into my hand. Then I'll summon Ancient Gear Golem in attack mode." Crowler's signature monster rose up on his field, albeit only without a power boost. (3000)

"Check it!" Chazz said. "Crowler's best monster."

"But where's the sacrifice?" Syrus asked.

"It's on the field," Zane pointed out. "The Ancient Gear Castle. A very skillful move. When summoning a monster with Ancient in its name, you can sacrifice Ancient Gear Castle. And it counts as the same number of sacrifices as however many monsters have been summoned so far." The named spell card then disappeared from the field.

"Now, Gear Golem, attack Vampire Bat with Mechanized Melee." Crowler's signature monster pulled back its arm and threw a transparent fist at the flying zombie, which then passed through its owner.

Camula: 2300-300

"Did you forget that Vampire Bat can't be destroyed?" Camula asked as her persistent monster returned in all its glory. "But as Infernalvania will demonstrate, your golem can."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken."

"What's he gonna do?" Chazz wondered.

"Oh… just destroy every spell and trap card on the entire field. Suffer the wrath of Heavy Storm." A violent wind suddenly came into existence, shattering Camula's face-down card and reducing the Transylvanian castle to dust.

"You must be quite a bore to your students. So predictable."

"Please, you don't know what you're talking about."

Camula's jaw then dropped beyond what most people could, at the same time as a viperfish tongue came out and a vicious pair of fangs could be seen. "Oh, don't I? I activate the trap, Zombie Bed."

"You can't! I just destroyed all the trap and spell cards."

"Which is exactly what I wanted you to do."

"But why?"

"Of course," Zane stated. "Zombie Bed must have to be destroyed in order to be activated."

"Very good, my darling. And now that it has been, its effect lets me summon back another Vampire Bat in attack mode." A second giant bat appeared next to the first." (800-1200) (1000-1200) "Thanks to your card, you're completely defenseless."

All the onlookers stared in surprise. "She knows Crowler's every move even before he does," Chazz said.

The vampire mistress chuckled as her face became normal again. "It's easy when you have a hundred flying bats at your command." One of said bats chose that moment to land on her shoulder as she drew her card. "It's over, Crowler. I activate Book of Life. It resurrects my Vampire Lord." The blue haired vampire returned amidst the flying bats. (2000-2400) "However, you cannot give life without taking it away. So I'll be taking your Chimera from your graveyard. And now I'll remove Vampire lord to summon Vampire Genesis." The more human looking vampire made way for a powerful purple giant with a large blue wing on its back. (3000-3400)

Crowler turned away from the duel and looked at the students watching him. "My students, no matter what happens to me, always remember this… It's true, I may have been hard on you at times, but it's simply because I believe in you. Therefore, if I fall here, there's still hope. Cause I know you all will rise."

"Don't talk like that!" Zane said.

"This isn't good," Erik muttered.

"Have you finished with your final lesson yet, Crowler?"

"Excuse me, but that's Doctor to you!" the Obelisk headmaster snapped at the vampire woman.

"If you wish, I'll put it on your tombstone as soon as I'm finished. Vampire Genesis, destroy his Golem." The giant vampiric creature shot out a stream of purple mist which tore through Crowler's Golem.

Crowler: 1800-1400

"That all? I thought you Shadow Riders were supposed to be tough."

"You want more? Very well, try this. Vampire Bats, attack." The two flying bats then split into a flock of smaller ones who swarmed Crowler.

"Dr. Crowler!"

"Jaden, avenge me, my boy." And with those words said, he fell to the ground in defeat.

Crowler: 1400-0

"His key, is mine," Camula said as the remaining holograms faded away.

"No way!" Chazz spoke up.

"We can't stop her. She won the duel," Jaden pointed out.

The female vampire then walked over to her fallen opponent and took the spirit key from his neck. It disappeared in a flash of light as she held it up. "One down, six to go. And now, darling children… to take my second prize." She pulled out the small doll, which began to glow with an eerie purple aura, along with Crowler's body. When it was done, the doll had been transformed into a likeliness of the teacher. "Dolls are pretty, but this is decidedly not." The vampire lady tossed it to the ground like a piece of trash. "It's garbage now."

"That's it!" Jaden exclaimed, and went to take a step forward, but found Zane's arm in the way. "But…"

"Now, I bid farewell." A dark castle then appeared in the fog behind Camula.

"We'll find you!" Erik declared.

"And duel!" Bastion added.

"Children, that's precisely what I'm hoping for." She disappeared in thin air, her evil laughter lingering behind.

* * *

Hope you liked it and all that, oh, and please review.

**Cards made up by me:**

Zombie Resurrection  
Normal Trap  
Effect: Activate only when a zombie type monster you control is destroyed in battle. Summon another one from your graveyard with lower attack points.  
Image: An undead hand reaching out through the ground, from among the scattered remains of Ryu Kokki.

**Next chapter**: Crowler's out of the game, and now Zane wants to avenge him.


	37. Revenge of the Vampire Part 2

Disclaimer: Don't you start thinking that I own Yugioh GX!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Revenge of the Vampire – Part 2**

The following day, thick, dark clouds hung over Academy Island, reflecting the peoples' general mood. All the remaining key-keepers, along with Syrus and Chumley, were gathered in the infirmary. "I'll play a trap, and then I'll play a spell, and then I'll attack!" Jaden winced as he felt a brief moment of pain and lay still in his bed. "Well, just as soon as I get better I will. Camula's gonna get it sooner or later. I mean, taking that spirit key is one thing, but Crowler's soul too?"

"Jay…" Syrus spoke up. "You really otta rest."

"Sy's right," Banner agreed. "After all, if we're not at our best, it's our souls that will be sealed in those dolls and our bodies will be… catatonic!" Upon hearing this, Pharaoh meowed loudly and leapt out of his master's arms and hid underneath Jaden's bed. "No, Pharaoh," Banner said as he crawled under the bed to retrieve his pet. "Just because the words has 'cat' in it, doesn't mean it applies to you. Though I'm not sure nine lives makes a difference with vampires."

"The worst part is, since Camula was able to take Crowler's key, she only needs nine more to unlock those beast cards," Bastion reminded them.

Alexis turned around in her seat next to her still unconscious brother. "And then it won't just be our souls at stake, but everyone's in the world."

"That's a scary thought," Erik muttered.

"That's it!" Jaden exclaimed. "I'm dueling her tonight!"

"You duel?" Chazz asked incredulously, then pulled the sheets over Jaden's head. "Think again. You can't even win a fight with a sheet. This duel is for the Chazz."

"Hold on," Jaden said as he struggled to pull the sheets off himself. "Hold on… There! I won!"

"You did not," Chazz shot back as he put the sheets over Jaden once again. "It's two out of three."

"Come on Jaden," Syrus encouraged his friend. "You can do it."

"Look, Jaden's obviously not up to snuff. One of us is gonna have to face Camula."

"And by us you mean you, correct?" Bastion asked. "I'm sorry Chazz. But I'm not entirely sure that you're the man for the job. I should go."

"You?"

"Almost got it," Jaden muttered. "Man! What thread count is this?"

"Shut it!" Chazz snapped.

"Sure, I guess I could use the break."

Christine stood up from her seat next to Jeremy, who still hadn't woken up since his last shadow game. "What we need is to work together! Protecting the keys and getting Crowler's soul back is top priority!"

"Alright, I'll sit out," Jaden gave up. "Until I get better."

The key-keepers nodded collectively at this. Syrus then happened to notice his brother walking out of the infirmary and proceeded to follow him into the hallway. "Hey Zane, wait up." The elder Truesdale brother turned around to face his sibling. "Didn't we just decide to work together? What gives? Where're you going?"

Zane smiled a little and started walking down the hall again. "If all that matters is protecting those keys and rescuing Crowler, you know where I'm going." Syrus turned his head to the windowed wall, allowing for him to see one of Camula's bats hanging upside down.

* * *

In the vampire woman's castle, its resident was lying in a bubble filled bathtub. She looked up when one of her bats came in and started to show her what it had seen. "The one I crave is coming," she said. "And I'm ready for him."

* * *

Back in the infirmary, Christine was still sitting next to Jeremy's bed, while Alexis sat close to her brother's, and Syrus and Chumley hung around Jaden, who was currently awake and simply relaxing. The blue haired Obelisk girl gently grabbed Jeremy's hand and held it for a moment, before letting go, except that her friend subconsciously held on. His eyes then blinked open and he had a momentary look of confusion as he took in his surroundings. "Jeremy!" Christine exclaimed. "You're awake!"

"Uhh, yeah. I guess so." He tried to push himself up, but only managed to prop himself on his elbows. "Hey guys," he called out to the others.

"Hey Jeremy," Jaden waved to his friend.

"So… has anything happened since I've been knocked out?"

"Well… There was this vampire lady that showed up," Syrus began.

"And as it turns out, she's a Shadow Rider too," Chumley continued.

"She dueled against Crowler at the lake, except that he lost," Alexis added.

"And to top it off, not only did she take his spirit key, but she sealed away his soul in a doll," Christine finished.

"What!" Jeremy exclaimed, visibly surprised by this latest piece of news. "That's nuts! I'm-"

"Not going anywhere," the blue haired girl said firmly. To make her point, she pushed against his chest so that he was lying flat on his bed.

"Fine then," he conceded. "I give."

"Good. You need to rest and recuperate for a while. Let the rest of us handle any Shadow Riders for now."

"Sure. I guess I'm just gonna lie down and sleep it off until I get better," Jeremy said sleepily, and then asleep again.

* * *

At the Slifer dorm, Chazz was sitting on his bed, looking over his deck, when the Ojama Yellow spirit popped up next to him. "_Hey, long time no see boss. How're thing_

?"

In response, Chazz batted the annoying duel spirit into a flat screen TV. "They were fine, until you showed up," he muttered.

"_Ohh, and now thing are great, right_?" the yellow being asked as he floated back to his master. "_Thanks boss. You always know how to make me feel good. So, what're you doing? Arranging your deck? Can I help_?"

Chazz then smacked the spirit away with his hand, sending it flying onto a desk, more specifically, the doll containing Crowler's soul. "Hey! Fragile here!" the Obelisk headmaster's voice came from within the doll. Ojama Yellow hesitantly came closer and started tickling it. "What're you doing? Stop it! No, stop!"

"_Boss! This doll's alive_!"

"What?" Chazz stood up off his bed, walked over to the doll and picked it up in one hand.

"Would you mind easing up on the grip a tad? You're wrinkling my coat!"

"Oh yeah. That's Dr. Crowler alright." Chazz turned his attention towards the window upon hearing the sound of wings beating in the air. He walked over the pulled the curtains aside, revealing a horde of bats flying in the distance. Upon seeing this, he picked up his cards, disk and ran outside. "It's starting again!"

* * *

Banner watched them from his window, a frown on his face. "She's back…"

* * *

Bastion ran out from his dorm as he saw the bats go by, duel disk and deck at the ready.

* * *

"Run!" Jaden said as he climbed onto Chumley's back.

"Aww, running?"

"Actually, piggybacking."

"Whatever it is, let's get a move on," Alexis spoke up. "Because I have a feeling that vampire lady is about to bite again."

"Can't I go too?" Jeremy complained.

"No," Christine said sternly. "You're going to stay right here. Understood?"

"Yes mam," he replied. "Just be sure that I can see the duel over my PDA."

"Of course. Now let's get a move on."

* * *

All the remaining key-keepers, minus Jeremy, joined up at the lake, along with Erik and Zane who'd arrived first. Once all together, a red carpet rolled out across the water, inviting them to come across. They all got on and started to walk towards the eerie castle. "Explain to me again why we're going to this place?" Chumley complained. "Instead of running away from it? Or walking away?" The others simply ignored his whining and they continued until reaching a large wooden door that creaked open before them.

"Aww man!" Chumley moaned at the sight in front of them. "Now we've gotta do stairs?"

They went up the stairs and followed Zane through a torch lit corridor. "Can't I just drag Jaden around? It's be easier on my back."

"Quiet," the elder Truesdale brother spoke up. "We're close."

They went on in relative silence for a while, until reaching a large room with a chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Also, on a higher level was a walkway going all around the room with a balcony on either end. "Right on time," Camula's voice called out to them. The vampires in question came into view, standing on the balcony at one end of the room. "Looking for me?"

"You bet we are!" Jaden answered. "We want Crowler back!"

"Got that right!" Chazz added. "So hand him over!"

"Yes, or else…" Bastion pitched in.

"I have no interest in little schoolchildren."

"She must mean you," Bastion suggested.

"No! She means you!" Chazz shot back.

"Are you ready darling?" Camula asked Zane.

"Let's duel."

"Good luck bro."

Zane made his way up a set of stairs and walked over to the balcony opposite Camula. "Let us review the rules. If you win, you get Crowler's soul back and I'll be on my way. But if I win…" she held up a small blank doll in her hand. "I get your soul, your key and I get to continue my quest to unleash the three Sacred Beasts." Zane merely nodded at this as he inserted his deck and started up his disk. Camula did the same, her disk growing bat wings for the card zones.

"Duel!"

Zane: 4000

Camula: 4000

"I like to lead. I play Call of the Mummy. When I have no monsters on the field, I can summon any zombie type monster from my hand. So I'll summon Vampire Lady in defense mode." A green haired woman with pointy ears, pale skin and wearing a purple dress kneeled down before the vampire mistress. (1550) "Then I'll summon Zombie Werewolf in defense as well." The gray werewolf crouched down next to Camula's defending monster. (1200) "And I'll lay one card face-down. That's all."

"Really?" Zane asked as he drew. "Shame, cause I won't be enough to protect you from what I have planned. First, I summon Proto Cyber Dragon." A small, serpentine metal monster appeared on Zane's field. (1100) "And thanks to its effect, its name is treated as Cyber Dragon. Next, I'll play this." Zane showed a card which everyone could discern was Powerbond.

"Playing Powerbond?" Camula wondered.

"It allows me to fusion summon a machine type monster. And I have the perfect one in mind. So I'll fuse Proto Cyber Dragon with the two Cyber Dragons in my hand to form the almighty, Cyber End Dragon." The three named monsters swirled around each other, and when they stopped, they had combined into Zane's powerful three headed creature. (4000)

"Zane summoned his most powerful monster on his very first turn," Alexis remarked.

'Wow, that's not like Zane,' Syrus thought to himself. 'He usually feels out an opponent before using Powerbond. It's almost like he's just using it, instead of playing it.' "I hope he knows what he's doing."

"So do the rest of us," Erik added.

"I like your aggressiveness," Camula commented. "But Powerbond has its risks. Are you certain you can handle all the consequences?"

"Powerbond may have its risks, but it sure has benefits as well," Christine pointed out.

"Right," Chumley said. "At the end of his turn, he'll take damage equal to Cyber's original attack points, and that's 4000. But that may be a risk worth taking, cause now Cyber End Dragon's attack points double." (4000-8000)

"8000 points!" Camula exclaimed, visibly surprised at this latest development.

"I don't think I'll have to worry about consequences after this turn. Now attack Vampire Lady. Super Strident Blaze." The large metal dragon's three heads shot out a blast of energy from their mouths, which converged and flew towards the enemy field.

"Forgetting my face-down? I play the trap, Red Ghost Moon. Now, darling, by discarding a zombie from my hand to the graveyard, your monster's attack points are added directly to my life-points. And our little battle ends right here and now." The incoming attack was halted in its tracks by Camula's face-down, as the vampire woman was surrounded by an orange aura. "That's 8000 points, plus the 4000 I started with, giving me a total of 12000 points."

"Wrong!" Zane interrupted. "I activate the spell card De-Fusion, disassembling Cyber End Dragon and leaving you…"

"With absolutely nothing," Bastion finished. "Red Ghost Moon's target is gone so its effect is canceled."

"My points!" Camula exclaimed as the aura surrounding her disappeared. Zane's metal dragon then split apart into the three original monsters. (1100) (2100) x2

"Hey, know what else?" Syrus asked. "Now that Powerbond is gone…"

"He won't have to pay points for using it."

"Now that's playing a card," Jaden commented. "Right Sy?"

"Yeah."

"I play Pot of Greed, to draw two cards. Then I'll end my turn with once card face-down and Different Dimension Capsule." A blue sarcophagus appeared in front of Zane. "So by removing a card from my deck, I can add it to my hand in two turns." The royal coffin then disappeared in thin air.

Camula laughed lightly. "Oh, my darling, I see now why you're ranked the top duelist at Duel Academy."

"Actually, you haven't seen anything yet."

"Well I hope not. Zane dear, we've only just begun this duel. And I expect to have a lot more fun with you."

"Aww man, I don't think I'm gonna like her kind of fun."

"Now then… shall we? I play Spellbook Inside the Pot, so we both draw three cards. Then I sacrifice Vampire Lady to summon Vampire Lord." The defending vampire woman disappeared and was replaced by the gentleman vampire. (2000) "Next I'll remove him from play to summon Vampire Genesis." Her new monster disappeared a moment later, and in its place, was the monstrous purple behemoth. (3000)

"Gross," Erik commented.

"Ugly," Chazz added.

"Scary," Syrus pitched in.

"I promised you some fun, didn't I? And now we'll have it. Are you exited yet?" The only response this prompted was for Zane to stare and frown. "You're such a bore! Vampire Genesis attack!" The purple vampiric creature then began to glow with a purple aura.

"As fun as this is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt with my face-down, Attack Reflector Unit."

"A trap?"

"One that's evolutionary. You see, this evolves Cyber Dragon into… Cyber Barrier Dragon." Zane smaller monster started to glow and extend beyond its previous size. When it was finished, it was as big as the original Cyber Dragons, and had a ring around its neck. (800) "And when the Cyber Barrier Dragon is in attack mode, once per turn, its special ability allows me to negate the attack of your monster." The Barrier Dragon's head glowed with a green aura, which dimmed down the vampire's until it was gone.

"How dare you!"

"Your bro's got game," Jaden commented. "Though it was close."

"Yeah," Syrus agreed.

"It's my turn," Zane announced as he drew. "I play two cards face-down and activate Card of Demise. This lets me draw until I have five cards. Then I summon a second Proto Cyber Dragon." Another smaller metal dragon appeared. (1100) "Next I activate the spell, Photon Generator Unit. Now, by sacrificing two of my dragons, I can summon the Cyber Laser Dragon." Zane's smaller monster and one Cyber Dragon disappeared in a flash of light, making way for a slightly different one with the tip of its tail being pointed. (2400) "And with Cyber Laser Dragon, once every turn, I can destroy one monster with equal or more attack or defense points."

"I bet you talk to all the girls that way," Camula said.

"No, just ones I really don't like," Zane replied flatly. "Now, Laser Dragon, let loose, Blue Lightning Lash." The tip of the powerful dragon's tail opened up shot out a beam of blue energy which struck Vampire Genesis in the torso and destroyed it. "Next I'll reveal Polymerization, fusing the remaining Cyber Dragon on my field with the one in my hand to create… Cyber Twin Dragon." The two monsters in question melded with one another and formed the two headed metal dragon. (2800) "Finally, I play Fairy Meteor Crush, allowing my Twin Dragon to do damage through your defending monsters. Now attack Zombie Werewolf. Double Strident Blast." The powerful fusion creature opened both mouths and fired a combined beam of energy which tore through the lycanthrope and took out a chunk of Camula's life-points.

Camula: 4000-2400

"I summon another one from my deck in attack mode." A second grey furred creature appeared on the vampire woman's field, crouching down. (1200-1700)

"Laser Dragon, attack with Blue Lightning Blast." Zane's second machine opened its mouth and shot out a beam of blue energy at the enemy creature.

Camula: 2400-1700

"I summon the last one." A third werewolf took the place of its fallen allies. (1700-2200)

"Twin Dragon, attack again." Again, Zane's two headed machine fired off a combined blast which tore through Camula's monster and life-points.

Camula: 1700-1300

"And don't think I forgot Cyber Barrier Dragon. Attack, Sonic Shriek." The remaining monster cried out, emitting a sound wave which struck Camula and pushed her into the wall.

Camula: 1300-500

"Alright!" Syrus exclaimed.

"That's exactly the move I would've made."

"Sure Chum," Jaden said. "Totally… in your dreams!"

"So, now you can see why my brother's never lost, huh guys? Still, mom says I got the looks."

"Uhh…" was all the others were able to say in response.

"I end my turn."

"Darling, you do realize you're forcing me to reveal my ugly side?" Camula's jaw dropped down, her tongue extended and her fangs came out further. "And it's only going to get uglier. I play Illusion Gate." A stone arch and doorway rose up behind her.

"Illusion Gate?" Zane wondered.

"Uh oh," Jaden spoke up. "I've never heard of it. You guys know what it does?"

"Not me," Bastion answered.

"Same here," Erik muttered.

"I think we're about to find out," Banner added.

"Behold!" Camula exclaimed as her face returned to its normal state. The doorway then opened wide, letting a foul wind blow onto the field. "First, this spell card destroys all monsters on your field." The wind tore through Zane's three monsters before dying down. "But that's not all. It has twin functions." A copy of the vampire woman suddenly appeared next to the original. "You see, this card also allows me to summon any monster you've used during this entire duel. So, even though you de-fused Cyber End Dragon after only one turn, you did use him during this duel."

"Oh please…" Zane scoffed. "No card is powerful enough to let you make a move like that. There must be some kind of catch."

"Yes, but it's just a tiny one. After using Illusion Gate, should I happen to still lose this duel, I must sacrifice a soul to the Sacred Beasts."

"That all?" Bastion asked.

"Well good!" Chazz said. "It's what you get for taking Crowler's!"

"Beg your pardon? I said a soul, not mine. You see, in the shadows, it's all the same to the Sacred Beasts. Syrus… Oh yes, those beasts will find your soul to be a tasty treat, I'm sure."

Zane's eyes widened in surprise at this. "Syrus! Run!"

"Oh no you don't!" Before the diminutive Slifer had a chance to get away, Camula's double flew down and snatched him up next to the original.

"Sorry Zane," Syrus said, downtrodden.

"And now, I summon the almighty Cyber End Dragon!" Zane's most powerful monster rose to the field on Camula's side. (4000) Syrus cried out as a greenish aura surrounded him and drained his energy to the three headed machine.

"Sy!" Zane called out.

"Whatever will you do?" Camula asked tauntingly. "I have your best monster and your little brother. Actually, I supposed they're really one and the same. After all, if you manage to destroy Cyber End Dragon, you can say goodbye to little Syrus' soul. So like I said, whatever will you do?"

Zane looked at his hand and face-down card. 'The face-down card on my field is Call of the Haunted. If I use it to bring back Cyber Barrier Dragon, I can stop her attack. Then next turn Different Dimension Capsule will add Powerbond to my hand. And with Cybernetic Hidden Technology already there, I'll be able to summon my second Cyber End Dragon and win the duel. Camula will be defeated, we'll be that much closer to keeping the world safe from those Sacred Beasts. And in exchange, we just lose one soul, my brother's. The choice is clear.'

"So, what is it going to be? Safe the world, or save your brother's soul? Which also means losing yours."

"Go on Zane," Syrus urged his brother. "Do it. You have to. My soul is a small price to pay, to stop Camula. After all, if she wins this duel, she'll get your spirit key. And that means the Shadow Riders will be that much closer to freeing those Sacred Beasts. Besides, if one of us has to go down, it might as well be me. I may have gotten the looks, but the truth is, you got just about everything else. The skills, the smarts… everything. It's alright. At least this way I'll be remembered for more than just being your little brother." A tear fell from Syrus' eye. "This way I'll be the hero, the one who saves the day. After all, we both know I'm not going to do it by dueling. It's just like you said: I never belonged here."

"I did say that. But since then, you proved me wrong," Zane said as he looked at his brother with a kind expression on his face. "You do belong here. I love you Syrus. Never forget that."

"Zane…"

"I'll miss you little bro. Farewell." Zane took his hand away from his disk and lowered his arms. "I stand down!"

"What're you doing?" Syrus asked in shock.

"So be it. Cyber End Dragon destroy him!" The three creature's heads fired off a combined blast which struck Zane head on.

"Stop! Take me instead!" Syrus said.

Zane: 4000-0

Zane's spirit key dropped from his neck and disappeared as he fell to his knees. The holograms and Camula's double then faded away, letting Syrus go free. "Big brother!" The vampire woman pulled out the faceless doll, which was then surrounded by a dark purple aura. The same happened to the defeated Obelisk's body, which disappeared as the doll became a likeliness of him.

"At last, darling, you're all mine. A tad smaller and a bit less talkative… but a darling trophy none the less." She then disappeared in a swirl of dust, her laughter echoing in the room. The academy people were surrounded by a dense mist, and when it dissipated, they were back at the edge of the lake.

"Just like that… he's gone," Syrus said, tears coming to his eyes.

"That's it!"

"Jaden?"

"You hear me Camula? No more! I'm through with you messing with my friends! What you did to Crowler, to Zane… it stops here. And I'm gonna be the one who stops it."

"Jaden…" Alexis spoke up.

"Sure, I may not be up to snuff, but I don't care! I'm taking her on. And one way or another, I'm getting or friends' souls back!"

"About time!" the Crowler doll said from Chazz' pocket.

"Camula, here I come. So get set, to get your game on!"

* * *

Okay, so, I hope you liked it and all that, and please review.

**Next chapter:** Jaden decides to take on Camula, with a bit of help from a few other people.


	38. Revenge of the Vampire Part 3

Disclaimer: I still don't own this stuff I'm writing about.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Revenge of the Vampire – Part 3**

Chancellor Sheppard was standing in his office, looking through the window at the raging storm outside, punctuated by an occasional flash of lightning. "Two of the seven gates have already been unlocked…" he muttered to himself.

He looked over his shoulder as the monitor sitting on his desk whirred to life, showing a dark figure wearing a mask with tubes hanging around it. "**You disappoint me!**" the person spoke. "**Your excellent duelists only excel in losing. Why don't you just give up and surrender the eight remaining keys?**"

"It's not over," Sheppard replied. "And If I know my students, they'll never give up! No matter what the odds! I mean, after all, they've come to this island to be champions."

"**And they'll end up as victims. My vampire is ready to feed again.**" The figure chuckled darkly and then the screen went blank.

* * *

In the infirmary, Alexis was sitting next to her brother's prone form, hoping for him to get better, even if little to nothing had changed so far. All the others who occupied beds were sleeping as well. The blond girl turned her attention towards Jaden, seeing him twist and turn in his sleep. "Jaden… get well. After all, with my brother still unconscious and Zane's soul stolen, we'll need all the help we can get to fight the shadow games and that vampire Camula."

Christine walked into the infirmary at that moment. "Hey Lex," she greeted her friend.

"Hey," she responded.

"Anything changed?" The other Obelisk girl simply shook her head in response. "This stinks," she said sullenly, then went to check on Jeremy, who was immobile on his bed.

The half medallion around the elder Rhodes' neck suddenly began to glow and his hands started to move towards it. "Atticus!" she exclaimed when his eyes opened slowly.

"What's going on here?" The two Obelisks girls turned their attention towards Julianne who had just gotten out of her unconsciousness. Suddenly, Jaden's half-piece began to glow as well, and then Jeremy's medallion started to shine in tandem with the others' halves.

* * *

Down at the edge of the lake, Chazz, Bastion and Erik were standing in front of the unrolled carpet, while Syrus and Chumley were pushing and pulling along a reluctant Slifer headmaster, who was carrying his feline companion. "Come on, Professor Banner," Syrus begged. "You have to duel that vampire! I mean, you're a shadow games expert!"

"Yeah," Chumley agreed. "Not only that, you're the only one out here that's wearing garlic aftershave."

"I can't duel!" Banner protested. "Who will take care of my cat? Pharaoh has a very specific diet!"

"Don't worry about it. This is clearly a job for Chazz Princeton."

Bastion turned away. "If you mean feeding the cat, I think you're right."

Erik smirked slightly at Chazz' annoyed expression.

"The cavalry's here!" Alexis and Christine announced as they were coming towards the group in a small motorboat. They stopped next to the red carpet and stepped out in the shallow water.

"We don't need Banner when we've got Jaden and Jeremy," Christine spoke up.

The two Slifer boys in question got up from within the boat's confines. "Hey guys," Jeremy greeted them.

"What's up?" Jaden asked.

"For the last time, you can't!" Syrus said.

"Yeah, you're still hurt, slackers," Chazz reminded them.

"It's true," Bastion admitted.

"Is this really a good idea?" Erik questioned.

"It's the best we've got right now," Christine replied. "See, we we're back at the hospital…"

* * *

(Flashback)

"You're finally awake!" Alexis exclaimed, then pulled off her brother's oxygen mask.

"Alexis… I need to tell you something. It's about the vampire, Camula. You can't defeat her like all the others."

"But why not?"

"Her necklace," Julianne answered.

"It's a shadow charm that gives her the power to steal others' souls. I'm sure you've seen her use it already." Atticus looked at his glowing medallion half. "But you can stop her with another charm."

"You just have to put both halves together," the Ra girl added. "Also, you should bring Jeremy along with you. I don't know why, but his medallion seems to react with the other pieces. Also… we weren't the only students brainwashed into becoming Shadow Riders. There's another… I don't know his real name, but he calls himself the Fallen Angel."

"Thanks," Christine said.

* * *

"If we can stop her from stealing souls, we can duel her with all our might," Alexis explained. "Instead of just standing scared."

"Doesn't scare me," Chazz muttered.

"Speak for yourself!" the Crowler doll squeaked from Chazz' pocket.

"So we fight fire with fire," Christine continued. "We've got our own charms!"

"Compliments of Atticus," Jaden indicated both halves hanging from his neck.

"And where did yours come from?" Erik asked.

"An old man I met in some weird place gave it to me after I beat him in a duel," Jeremy answered. "Anyways, let's get going!"

Everyone walked across the red carpet and into the dark and forbidding castle. "Alright Camula!" Jaden called out when they reached the room where Zane had been defeated. "I'm here for my friends' souls and I'm not leaving until I get em!"

The vampire woman came out onto one of the balconies. "Actually, truth be told, you're not leaving here ever again. Not a single one of you!"

Jeremy clapped his friend on the back. "Good luck, Jay."

They all went up the stairs to the walkway and Jaden went over to stand on the balcony opposite the Shadow Rider. "Alright Camula, get your game on!" Both duelists started up their disks and drew their starting hands.

Jaden: 4000

Camula: 4000

"And I mean on high! Cause when someone duel my pals and turns their souls into dolls, it puts me in a bad mood!"

"And let me tell you something. I don't care."

"Maybe this will change your mind. I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman." Jaden's water hero appeared on the field. (800) "Since he's alone on my field, I can draw two cards. One of which I'll play now. Polymerization. Bubbleman, fuse with Avian and Sparkman to create, Elemental Hero Tempest." The three named monsters became a flash of blue, green and yellow light, which formed a shining orb, from which emerged the powerhouse winged hero. (2800)

"Wow!" Syrus exclaimed. "What a way to start the duel!"

"It's big alright," Erik admitted.

"Jaden wants to end this quickly," Bastion stated. "And with Tempest out there, he might just be able to it."

"I wouldn't count Camula out just yet," Chazz said.

"Yes," Banner agreed. "After all, we've seen how strong her cards can be. Especially that Illusion Gate."

"We'll just have to hope she doesn't get a chance to play it," Alexis spoke up.

"Or else it could mean bad news for Jaden," Christine added.

"Last, I'll throw down two face-downs. Let's see what you got."

"Well, well. If you're in such a hurry to lose, then who am I to complain?" Camula drew her card and smirked. "I play Illusion Gate." The stone archway and door rose up behind the vampire woman.

"It had to be that one," Jaden said sarcastically.

"I'm sure you remember its effects. To begin, all monsters on the field are instantly destroyed. Then I get to summon any monster you've played." Camula's necklace then began to glow a little. "All I need to pay for this, is a soul to the Sacred Beasts, should I happen to lose. Now who's going to be the lucky one?" She looked to the side where the others were watching. The Illusion Gate opened up and black smoke came out of it, surrounding the audience and causing them to cough. "Dear me. This decision is just far too hard to make. Why don't I just put all your friends at stake?"

"What!" Jaden exclaimed. "All of them!"

"Never underestimate the power of the shadow. With this necklace, I can do anything."

"Oh yeah? Well you're not the only one with a fancy piece of jewellery." Jaden then put together the two pieces of the medallion around his neck. As soon as he did so, a bright light began to shine from his and Jeremy's medallions. The light from both merged and amplified the power they each gave off, shining through the smoke as if it was nothing.

"What happened?" Chazz asked.

"Jaden and Jeremy's medallions cancelled out the power of her necklace," Alexis explained.

"Just in time," Bastion said. "I thought we were all done for."

The Illusion Gate's doors where then closed and both Slifer's pendants dimmed down to their original state. 'Thanks, Atticus,' Jaden thought to himself. "Nice one, Jeremy," he said, giving his friend a thumb up.

"No problemo!"

"Looks like if you still want to use Illusion Gate, you'll have to do some soul searching without my friends," Jaden said, turning back to his opponent. "So why don't you just put that cheating card away and get on with this duel?"

"I think not! Illusion Gate, open your doors and accept my soul as a sacrifice!"

"She's willing to risk her own soul?" Jeremy exclaimed, disbelievingly.

"It seems like it," Banner said.

"Now, unleash your powers upon the field." The archway's doors opened up once again and shot out a stream of purple energy which grabbed Jaden's hero and pulled him in.

"Tempest!"

"Don't you worry, you'll see him again. But he'll be fighting on my side!" The powerhouse warrior came out through the doorway and stopped in front of Camula, though he had a darker appearance. (2800) "Next I'll summon Zombie Werewolf in attack mode." The gray furred lycanthrope rose next to the stolen monster. (1200) "Now, Elemental Hero Tempest, attack Jaden directly!" Tempest shot out a stream of blue energy at Jaden from his cannon arm.

"I play my face-down, A Hero Emerges. Now you pick a card from my hand. And if it's a monster, I can summon it."

Camula frowned in annoyance at this. "I choose the left one."

"Good choice. For me that is. I summon Wroughtweiler in defense mode." The metal dog crouched down in front of his owner. (1200) The stolen hero's attack then took it off the field. "Since Wroughtweiler was just destroyed in battle, I can take back Sparkman and Polymerization from the graveyard."

"That may be, but it won't protect you from my werewolf!"

"But this will! I play Hero Signal." A beam of light came out from Jaden's trap card, shining an 'H' against the ceiling. "When one of my monsters is destroyed, this lets me summon a level four or lower elemental hero from my deck, like Stratos." The blue hero with jet wings on his back rose up on Jaden's field. (1800) "And his effect lets me snag another elemental hero. And I pick Clayman."

"Grr! I end my turn."

"Looks like Jaden's learned a few new tricks," Chazz commented.

"I hope so!" the Crowler doll said.

"Clever calculation," Bastion remarked.

"Nice moves," Jeremy added.

"There's more where that came from. I play Polymerization one again. And this time I'll fuse Sparkman and Clayman to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." The two named monsters entered Polymerization's vortex and came out as the giant electric monster. (2400) "Thanks to his ability, I can destroy a monster whose original attack points are lower than his." Jaden's taller hero extended the palm of his hand and shot out a blast of electricity which fried the lycanthrope. "And since Zombie Werewolf was destroyed by an effect, you can't summon another one. Next, I play the field spell, Skyscraper." The scenery around them changed so that they were standing in a city made of many tall skyscrapers. "Here, heroes gain a thousand attack points in battle if they're weaker than the opposing monster. And since it's on my side, only Thunder Giant's getting a boost." (2400-3400) "Sorry Tempest, but it's for the best. Go, Voltic Thunder." Jaden's biggest hero put his hands together and sent out a wave of power which washed over Tempest.

Camula: 4000-3400

With the unwilling hero gone, Illusion Gate faded away. "Now, Stratos, hit er directly." The winged monster conjured a whirlwind from his wings which blew away a chunk of Camula's life-points.

Camula: 3400-1600

"And that'll be all for now."

'Fool, you have much to worry about! This next turn should prove that!' "I play the field spell, Infernalvania." Skyscraper crumbled into dust and was replaced by the dark, Transylvanian castle.

"Aww man!" Syrus moaned.

"Not lishus!" Chumley added.

"Now I'll discard a zombie from my hand to destroy all monsters on the field." Both Jaden's monster glowed with a red aura, before exploding in a shower of pixels. "Of course, after using it I can normal summon my monster. But that's a small price to pay. After all, I have this. Call of the Mummy. Due to its effect, when there are no monsters on my field, I can summon any zombie I happen to have in my hand. Like Ryu Kokki." The gruesome skeletal creature rose in front of its owner. (2400) "Attack him directly!" The vampire woman's creature opened up its mouth and spat out a bunch of bones which struck Jaden.

Jaden: 4000-1600

"Eww, that didn't look like fun," Christine commented.

"Even if their life-points are tied, the situation is in Camula's favor for now," Alexis noted.

"I end my turn."

"Then I'll play Legacy of a Hero. Since I have at least two level four or higher elemental heroes in the grave, I can draw three cards. Next I'll remove Polymerization and take back Legacy of a Hero all thanks to Elemental Recovery, which means another three cards for me. Then I summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat." A woman dressed in a, orange and white suit with fiery colored hair kneeled down in front of Jaden. (1000) "I'll I'll also play O-Oversoul to bring back Avian." The winged green hero knelt down next to his ally. (1000)

"What's he thinking?" Chazz asked. "No matter how many monster he has out, Camula can just destroy them with Infernalvania."

"Even if she destroys her own monsters, she still has Call of the Mummy to summon more," Bastion pointed out.

"No worries," Jaden reassured them. "I've also got this, R-Righteous Justice. Now Infernalvania is history." The Transylvanian castle suddenly collapsed. "One face-down ends my turn. And speaking of which, Lady Heat's effect kicks in. So you get hit for 200 points of damage for each elemental hero I control." The heroine conjured a fire ball in each hand and tossed them at the vampire woman, scorching her a little.

Camula: 1600-1200

"You'll pay for that! Ryu Kokki, destroy her!" Camula's skeletal monster opened its mouth and spat out a bunch of random bones.

"Sorry, but I've got a trap, Hero Barrier." A pulsing shield of blue light appeared in front of the heroine, deflecting the incoming attack.

"I end my turn with a face-down card."

"Now, I sacrifice Avian and Lady Heat to summon Elemental Hero Bladedge." Both heroes disappeared in a flash of light which materialized into Jaden's golden armored warrior. (2600) "Take out that zombie with Slice n Dice Attack!" Bladedge flew at the skeletal creature and sliced it in half with one of its arm blades.

Camula: 1200-1000

"I activate the trap, Option Hunter. This increases my life-points by the original attack points of the monster you just destroyed."

Camula: 1000-3400

"Alright then. I'll just throw down a face-down and call it a turn."

"I play the spell, Pot of Greed. Now I may draw two cards." Camula chuckled lightly upon seeing the cards she held. "Jaden… tell me, do you know the only thing worse than a vampire mistress?"

"Not really."

"A vampire mistress with a grudge. I use Call of the Mummy to summon Vampire Lord." The gentleman vampire rose in front of Camula. (2000)

"Uh oh," Jeremy spoke up. "I hope she's not going to do what I think she's about to."

"And now I'll remove him from play to summon forth… Vampire Genesis!" The large purple behemoth took the place of Vampire Lord. (3000)

"Did you see that?" Syrus asked.

"Unfortunately, yes!" Chumley answered.

"That thing has 3000 attack points," Chazz pointed out.

"And a powerful special ability to boot," Bastion added. "Jaden will have his work cut out for him."

"Next I'll use the spell card, Genesis Crisis. Now, every turn, a zombie type monster is transferred directly from my deck to my hand. "Now I play Giant Trunade. This takes all spell and trap cards on the field and returns them to their owner's hand." A whirlwind began to stir on the field.

"I'll just have to play my card first. Flute of Summoning Kuriboh. This lets me summon Winged Kuriboh from my deck." Jaden's furry duel spirit appeared on the field. (200)

Camula frowned as she took back her spell card. "Very well then. With Vampire Genesis, I can discard a zombie to the graveyard and summon another one. It can be any zombie monster, as long as it is a lower level. So I'll be discarding another Vampire Lady to bring back Vampire Bat." The large dark bat appeared next to Camula's other creature. (800-1000) (3000-3200) "Vampire Genesis attack! Crimson Storm!" The vampire giant roared and turned itself into a flow of crimson mist, which caught Bladedge full center and destroyed him.

Jaden: 1600-1000

"Vampire Bat, destroy his Kuriboh." The large bat split into a horde of smaller ones that swarmed over the defending spirit.

"How did she know to attack Bladedge first?" Syrus wondered.

"I'm not sure," Bastion admitted. "Camula knows our decks a little too well."

"So, isn't the villain supposed to tell the charming hero how she did it?" Jaden asked. "Cause I'm all ears."

"You didn't think my bats were just for decoration, did you? They were spying on each and every one of you! And just as they told me the weaknesses of your pathetic friends, Crowler and Zane, they told me yours. You can't win!"

"We'll just see about that."

"So you say. Now, once again I'll activate the magic of Genesis Crisis. And thanks to it, I'll add yet another zombie monster from my deck to my hand."

"Jaden's hanging on, but still, Camula's got way more life-points," Alexis remarked.

"Shadow Charm or not, how could we ever let im duel Camula?" Chazz said. "He's just not at the top of his game. We might as well hand over our spirit keys."

Christine smacked the black coat Slifer in the back of the head. "Shut up."

"Chazz," Erik spoke up. "You know you're not helping, right?"

"There's always hope," Bastion pointed out. "But I'll admit, with Genesis Crisis and Vampire Genesis, there isn't much of it."

"Let's bargain with her," Banner suggested. "Maybe get her in touch with a local blood bank."

"I think this is bigger than that, Professor," Jaden said. "Vampires may crave blood, but I think this one craves our spirit keys a lot more."

"Pathetic mortal," Camula spoke up. "You have no idea what I crave. Centuries ago, vampires were a proud and peaceful race. We lived in harmony with our mortal brothers and sisters. That is, until the dark times… until the war. No one knew who struck first, but the fighting was fierce. Neither soldier nor child was spared the horror as hatred decimated both our peoples. I, the last of my race, had no choice but to go into hiding. For years I slept in a coffin, but one time, a stranger approached, the dark power of shadow coursing through his veins. He offered me a choice, spend an eternity in my tomb, or accept his shadow charm and join his quest for the Sacred Beasts. For each duelist that I would beat in battle, their soul would be mine, which I would use to resurrect my defeated army of vampires. And we would suck our revenge from the bloated vein of humanity!"

"Ooooookay," Jeremy said slowly. "I think that was a bit more information than I needed to hear."

"So, if I go down right now… you'll get my key and my soul to start a vampire army?" Jaden asked.

"You're smart for a mortal. Perhaps you'll do us both a favor and just give up. I promise to make it painless."

"Lady, if you think that I'm gonna give up, you really have gone baddy." Jaden looked down at his deck as he got ready to draw. 'Alright, it's down to this.' "Here goes something… Sweet! I'm starting with my own Pot of Greed. Then I'll play Dark Factory of Mass Production. This lets me take two monsters and add them to my hand. Now I activate Fusion Gate." A dark swirling cloud appeared overtop of them. "You can forget about Polymerization. This baby lets me fusion summon without it."

"So what?"

"So check out Avian and Burstinatrix. Or should I say, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." The two monsters in question swirled around each other and formed Jaden's headliner. (2100) "There's more. I'm fusing Wingman and Sparkman to make something even better."

"Two fusions?" Alexis wondered.

"This has gotta be good," Jeremy said, awaiting what was to come.

"I summon the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman." Jaden's two monsters flew into the dark cloud. Then a figure came down, shining so brightly that Camula was forced to shield her eyes. When the light dimmed down, they could see a green skinned man sporting bright white armor all around, with a helmet and a pair of razor like wings. (2500)

"Flare Wingman?" Camula said, apparently confused by things. "But you've never used that card in your deck before! You must be cheating! You put it in there when I wasn't looking!"

"Cheating? You're one to talk, what with using your bats to spy on us," Jeremy pointed out.

"Nah, I didn't even sneak him in anyhow," Jaden said.

"You lie!"

"Not really. I just figured that since you were all about the shadows, I should pack something that's bright. Like the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman."

"Fine, use him. With just 2500 attack points, he still can't defeat Vampire Genesis."

"Actually, Camula, he will. Cause for each of my heroes that are just chilling away in the graveyard, Flare Wingman gains 300 attack points."

"How many does that add up to?" Syrus asked.

"Let's see…" Bastion muttered. "He's played eleven heroes, minus the three that were removed from play makes eight, times 300 is 2400 more points, added on to the original 2500 is 4900!"

The transparent forms of Jaden's fallen heroes faded into Flare Wingman, giving his attack points a boost. (2500-4900) "My vampire..." Camula began.

"Is about to bite the dust! Shining Flare Wingman, show this lady how we do things back at Duel Academy. Attack vampire Genesis with, Solar Flare!" Jaden's super powered jumped in the air and dove down, striking the purple behemoth with a glowing fist.

Camula: 3400-1700

"Sorry, but it takes more than that to defeat a vampire!"

"That's cool, cause I got more for ya. Flare Wingman's special ability. And it's better than a wooden stake. You get hit for damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points."

"No! It can't be!" The powerful hero stood in front of Camula and shone with a light so intense that it caused her to cry out.

Camula: 1500-0

"That's game!"

Illusion Gate suddenly rose from the ground behind the defeated vampire woman. It opened its doors and a ghostly hand reached out and passed through Camula, then it closed up again and disappeared. Camula's body faded into dust, at which the Zane doll and her necklace dropped to the ground.

"It's Zane's doll!" Jaden pointed out. It then glowed with a purple aura and grew into the Obelisk in question, though he lay unconscious on the floor.

"Big bro." Syrus, Bastion, Chumley, Erik and Alexis rushed over.

Chazz looked down and saw that Crowler was normal again and clinging to him. "I'm back!"

"What the-? Get offa me!"

"I'm finally out of that stinking pocket!"

The castle suddenly began to shake violently. "The castle's falling apart!" Christine noted.

"Let's get out of here!" Bastion shouted as he and Erik lifted him over their shoulders.

* * *

Having gotten out in time, everyone watched from the edge of the lake as Camula's castle crumbled into nothingness. With the last trace of it gone, the gloomy clouds overhead simply vanished, allowing for the sun to shine onto the island. "At last, the nightmare is finally over," Alexis said.

Bastion gave Jaden Camula's necklace. "This one at least," Jaden added.

"Camula was only the third Shadow Rider," Erik reminded them.

"And that means more will come," Jeremy spoke up.

Christine smiled at her blond Slifer friend. "But at least we'll be ready for them."

* * *

So, I hope you liked it and please review if you have anything to say.

**Next chapter:** Camula's gone. YAY! But it's not time to celebrate yet, because there's a familiar face amongst the bad guys. And this one's got it in for Jeremy, but a certain Obelisk girl might just get in the way.


	39. An Unwanted Surprise then a Lovely one

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX. Sucks, but that's life.

**WARNING!: **This chapter contains blood, violence, murder, profanities beyond belief, incredibly suggestive themes and any kind of stuff like that you can think of.

... Just kidding!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**An Unwanted Surprise then a **_**Love**_**ly one**

A mysterious and dark figure was waiting in the shadows of an equally dark cave underground. The surroundings remained undisturbed, that is, until another figure seemingly walked out from the wall, or rather the shadows on it. "It took you long enough to get here," the first one said, sounding like an annoyed old man.

Though it was difficult to discern the new arrival's features, one would still be able to see a woman wearing a dress and a dark hooded cloak overtop. "For the sake of making myself clear… I may be a Shadow Rider at the moment, but I'm working with you, not for you. Understood?"

"It was I who brought you out of the Shadow Realm after your defeat," the old man reminded her.

The woman scoffed at this. "It was only a matter of time before I could escape by my own efforts. I merely accepted your aid to get away a little sooner. And although I agreed to come along on your little quest for the Sacred Beasts, I do so on my own terms."

The hidden man sighed to himself. "Follow along with your desire for revenge all you like. Just be sure to bring me the remaining spirit keys."

"Don't fret about that. I'll give you all the keys you want, after I'm finished my own business." The woman then turned around and disappeared in the same manner as she had arrived.

* * *

In the Academy's main building, more specifically, in the infirmary, Jeremy was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed while Miss Fontaine was making sure that he was fit enough to resume his normal schedule. Christine was patiently standing off to the side while her friend was submitted to various tests. "Everything seems to be in order," the Obelisk headmistress announced after a short while. "You're free to go."

"Good," Jeremy said. "I'll be glad to get back to normal."

"Just try not to put too much stress on yourself, if at all possible."

"Don't worry," Christine reassured her. "I'll be sure to keep him in line."

Miss Fontaine smiled in an amused manner at this. "I'm sure you will." 'Those two look so cute together,' she thought to herself.

The two teenagers in question then got away from the hospital bed and walked out of the infirmary. "It's great to be back," the blond boy spoke up as they went through the hall. "Even if we still have to go to class in a bit."

"It shouldn't be too much trouble for you, seeing as you'll probably sleep through most of it," Christine teased him.

"Hey!" he replied indignantly. "It's not as if I sleep in class all that much."

She smirked at him in response. "I think it's debatable."

Jeremy pouted and muttered a few words under his breath. "Don't you have any faults that I can make fun of?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"You're so perfect that I can't get my mind away from all the qualities."

'Does he really think like that about me?' Christine wondered as a light blush crept across her cheeks.

Jeremy had a puzzled expression as he saw the state his friend was in. His face suddenly reflected understanding as he made the connection between his words and her blush, before he himself started to turn red from embarrassment. "Ummmm… did I just say that?" The Obelisk girl nodded in confirmation. "Ohhhh… well I, uhh… that is, ummm…" he stuttered.

"Jeremy?" she spoke up. "You know your duel against that Shadow Rider?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, there was something I wanted to say before that blue cage appeared and you were taken away."

"Yeah, I remember."

"Anyway, what I'd been meaning to tell you was-"

"Hey guys!" Jaden's voice called out to them. They turned around and saw the brunette boy coming towards them, accompanied by Syrus and Chumley.

"Hey Jay!" Jeremy greeted him, then high fived his three Slifer friend.

"So, I guess you don't have to stay in the infirmary any longer," Syrus remarked.

"Yep. Miss Fontaine said I was good to go, so long as I don't push myself too hard."

"That's cool," Chumley spoke up. The bell suddenly rang throughout the school, alerting the students inside that the next period would be starting soon.

"Oh, there's the bell," Jaden noted. "Time for class."

"Let's go then," Jeremy said.

* * *

They all made it to Banner's classroom on time and took their seats while waiting for their Professor to begin. The four Slifer boys all sat near each other, while Christine went off to sit next to Alexis. After the bell rung again, Banner started a lecture about different sorts of archetypes. Partway through the class, surprisingly enough, or perhaps not so much, Jaden and Jeremy were asleep and snoring. The brunette boy was leaning back and was somehow sleeping with his eyes open, while his friend was in a similar position, but with his eyes closed.

"As you know, there are many archetypes that can encompass more than one type of monsters," Banner spoke. "But, on the other hand, some remain more limited. For example, you could have an archetype made entirely of fiends. Now, could anybody name me one such series of monsters?" A few students raised their hands in the air. The Slifer headmaster looked over his students, and settled his gaze on one of the two sleeping boys. "Jaden?"

Syrus poked his brown haired friend in the side hard enough to wake him up. "Wha-?"

"Jaden…" he said, pointing to Professor Banner who was looking at him with an expectant look.

"I'm sorry?"

"Who you be so kind as to name an archetype which consists entirely of fiend monsters?"

"Ummmm… Oh, Archfiends!"

"Can you explain a little more about them?"

"Well… when they're targeted by an effect, their abilities kick in and choose a number between one and six. And if it's the right one, then the effect is negated and the card's destroyed. Also, you have to pay life-points during each of your standby phases to keep them out, unless you have Pandemonium."

"Very good," Banner complimented. "Who could name us another? Jeremy?"

Jaden elbowed his friend in the side to wake him up. "Banner wants you to name a fiends only archetype," he explained. "And don't say Archfiends, cause I already did."

"Oh! Umm…" Jeremy frowned in thought for a moment, before coming up with an answer. "Dark World monsters."

"Yes. And how does one such deck function?"

"It focuses on sending monsters from the player's hand to the graveyard in order to activate their effects. Most of the Dark Worlders can be summoned when they're discarded, or they allow the player to destroy an opponent's cards or do different other things."

"Good. However, if I may point out another aspect, while they do have effects that activate when they're discarded from the player's hand, those are much more potent when they're sent to the grave by an opponent's card effect."

"Didn't that strange woman Jeremy dueled at the Abandoned Dorm use a Dark World Deck?" Alexis asked her friend.

"Yeah, she did," Christine replied. "Even by discarding her monsters by herself she was pretty tough. I'd hate to think about what could have happened if she'd been able to use her more powerful effects."

"Against a deck like that, you'd have to be careful with your Virus Cards."

"I know. If I used Crush Card or Deck Devastation against someone like her, it could turn things ugly in a flash. But at least she was swallowed up by the Shadow Realm after Jeremy defeated her."

"Speaking of Jeremy, what's the situation between you two?"

"I know for sure that I really like him. As in, a lot. But, I'm just not quite sure if he likes me the same way."

"You must have noticed something about his behavior that shows how much he cares."

"Well… sort of. There were some times I've noticed a few possible things. But it's just… whenever we're alone and I try to tell him how I feel, something just has to interrupt it all. When we were outside walking, he was snatched away by that Shadow Rider. And just today, we were alone while we walked from the infirmary, but then Jaden, Syrus and Chumley showed up, and then we all had to come here."

"Oh well, no one ever said that love was easy," Alexis pointed out. "If you really like him that much, you just have to keep trying."

"Thanks Lex."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Later on, after classes, Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus decided to go to the card shack. When they came to it, they saw a few students browsing about, one of which was Bastion. "Hey Bastion," Jaden said as they approached the Ra Yellow student.

"How's it going?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," he replied. "Good to see you're both up and running."

"I just got out this morning and apparently everything working perfectly."

"So, what're you doing around here?" Syrus inquired.

"Oh, nothing much. I've just been looking for a few possible cards that I might add in one of my decks. That way I'll be sure to be ready to take one of those Shadow Riders."

"That's cool," Jaden said.

Jeremy saw Dorothy come out behind the counter and went to talk with her. "Hey Dorothy."

"Hello Jeremy," she greeted him. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, thank you very much."

"So, is there anything I can do for you? Anything in particular you were looking for?"

"Well, I was just wondering, would you happen to know about any new samurai cards coming out?"

"There's supposed to be some new ones that will be released sometime soon. But we aren't going to have any of them for a while now."

"That's okay, I can wait. And besides, I'll be just fine with what I've got right here," he said, patting his deck case.

"I'll let you know as soon as they come in."

"Thanks."

* * *

After hanging around at the card shop for a while, Jeremy decided that he'd had enough and felt like leaving. "Hey guys," he spoke to his friends. "I'm going back to the dorm for now."

"I think I'll stay here for a bit longer," Jaden replied.

"Me too," Syrus added.

"Okay. Later then." Jeremy then turned around and left the card shack behind. He walked through the hallways, which were relatively empty in the realm of students and faculty members. As the Slifer boy made his way through the corridors, his mind was off elsewhere, due to a certain blue haired girl who kept invading his head.

"_Thinking about someone in particular, are we_?" Shien's Footsoldier asked as he appeared.

"Wha-? What makes you say that I'm thinking about Christine?" Jeremy replied with a blush.

"_Well, for one, there's the fact that you just told me. And two, your face confirms it._" The duel spirit had a smug expression on his face as he outlined those facts.

"Okay, you win. Yes I was thinking about her. I mean, she's really nice, kind, a great friend, and she looks just…"

"_Dazzling? Striking? Beautiful?_"

"I don't know. My head feels so messed up right now I can't even think straight."

"_I guess I'll just leave you to your thoughts. Don't worry, I'm sure everything will sort itself out._" The monkey duel spirit then disappeared, leaving Jeremy by himself again. He continued walking, a spaced out look on his face, until he came to a corner and bumped into someone. For some reason or another, it caused him to fall on his back.

The shock jarred him to his senses, and he took notice of Christine… and especially the fact that she had fallen over him. He froze immediately upon seeing this and blushed a red so deep that it would have made a tomato jealous. The Obelisk girl pulled up a little and froze as well when she saw the predicament they were in, blushing no less than her friend.

"Uhhhhhh…"

"Uhhhhhh…"

The two of them remained in this position for a brief moment longer, before they managed to shake themselves out of their stupor. Christine got off Jeremy and stood up, allowing for him to do the same. "Sorry bout that," the Slifer boy said, a hand on the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yeah… umm, sorry."

"I was, thinking about... stuff. And I wasn't really looking where I was going."

"That's alright," she mumbled. "Umm… you okay?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"Same." Silence reigned around for a while. Neither of them spoke a word, but simply looked at each other, embarrassment still visible on their faces. The stillness was broken when Erik happened to walk by and stopped when he noticed their awkwardness.

"Am I… interrupting anything?" he asked cautiously. Christine and Jeremy looked at the Obelisk boy for a second, then at each other, then Erik again, and each other.

"I think I'll get going now," Jeremy said slowly, and then walked away towards the main entrance.

"Well, that was weird," Erik commented.

"You just had to show up, didn't you?" Christine asked in an exasperated tone.

The brown haired boy raised an eyebrow in question. "I don't suppose you'd care to explain?"

"Not really," she muttered, then walked off and left him alone, with a puzzled expression on his face.

* * *

Later in the day, the four Slifer boys were sitting together at a table in their dorm's lunch room. They each had a tray in front of them with rice, sardines, gravy with bits of meat and carrots. While Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were eating at their normal pace, Jeremy had hardly bitten into the food before him. Instead, he was absentmindedly poking at it with his fork.

"Hey Jeremy," Syrus spoke up. The blond boy did not react at this and merely continued staring at the tray in front of him. "Yoo hoo! Hello!" He waved a hand in front of his face, attempting to catch his attention, yet somehow failing.

"This is weird," Jaden commented.

"Yeah," Chumley agreed. "He hasn't even touched his food or anything."

Syrus then tried poking him in the ribs repeatedly, and ended poking him hard enough to provoke a response. "Wha-?" Jeremy blinked his eyes and he came back to his surroundings.

"Finally," Jaden said. "What's up with you?"

"Dunno. I was just… thinking... that's all."

"Really?"

"… Yeah." Jaden, Syrus and Chumley all looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"If you say so."

* * *

After the four of them finished eating, they went to go back to their room, but stopped before the stairs to the second level when they saw Christine and Alexis coming towards them. The former was wearing the silver and white necklace she'd gotten from her mother and had a hesitant look, but the latter was ignoring this and seemed to be urging her along. "Hey guys," Alexis spoke up once they stopped in front of the boys.

"Hey Lex," Jaden said back. "So, what brings you two over here?"

"Actually, I think Christine had something important to say to Jeremy." She gently elbowed her friend in the side, encouraging her to speak up. The blue haired girl looked at her, then the three other Slifers, then her again. Alexis saw this and understood the silent message. "You know what? I think that maybe we should leave them alone for a bit."

Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and Alexis were just about to give the two some privacy, but fate proved once again that it possesses a very whimsical disposition. All their PDA's suddenly rang out at the very same time, with the exception of Syrus and Chumley's. They then picked them up and read the message shown to them.

_Emergency!_

_All key-keepers come to the main entrance!_

_Now!_

_Erik._

"Sounds serious," Jaden commented. "Let's go!"

* * *

Following a fast paced run all the way from the Slifer Red dorm to the main building, they arrived at the front entrance at the same time as Chazz. They found Erik standing there, along with Crowler, Banner, Zane and Bastion. "What's the emergency?" the black coat student asked.

Erik pointed to the foot of one of the statues. They all looked there and noticed an Obelisk boy with black hair and glasses who was lying immobile on the ground, with both arms over his chest. All around him were a bunch of a black circles, each with a series of intersecting gray lines and three purple dots forming a triangle in the center. Jeremy looked down at his medallion, taking note of the fact that it looked eerily similar. "Don't look at me! I didn't do it!"

"We know," Alexis said.

"But who did?" Zane wondered.

"I tried to pull him out," Erik spoke up. "Can't touch him for some reason."

All those who still had their spirit keys could feel them shaking gently at the same time as Jeremy and Jaden's medallions began to glow a little. The unconscious boy's right arm lifted off his chest and pointed out towards a path that went into the forest. "Okay…" Jeremy muttered. "This is weird."

"As strange as this may be, I think we should follow," Banner suggested.

They all nodded at this and followed in the direction the boy was pointing at. They walked along for a while, the evening just beginning to settle around the island, although darkness hadn't made itself quite present. After about a minute, they happened to find an Obelisk red headed girl lying on the ground in the same manner as they boy they'd found just before. When they came close, her arm unfolded and pointed down the path.

"Creepy," Chumley commented.

Regardless of such, they continued walking until they reached a place where the path split in two. "Where're we going now?" Syrus asked.

As if to answer, Bastion happened to notice another Ra boy who was leaning against a tree, similarly to the others. His arm came up and indicated the fork on the left. "Come on," he said to the others. They all went down the chosen path, coming across a Slifer student who pointed towards a clearing up ahead.

When they reached it, they found it to be empty. "Okay… was this all just a wild goose chase?" Alexis wondered.

"Of course not," a new voice spoke up.

"Where are you?" Jaden asked. "Show yourself!"

"As you wish." A figure stepped out from behind a tree and stood about ten feet away from the group. The person was a woman wearing a dark red dress divided at the legs and a hooded cloak of the same color.

"Is that…" Christine spoke up.

"It can't be," Jeremy muttered.

"Oh, but it can," the mysterious woman said. She then gripped her cloak and tossed it aside, confirming their suspicions as to her identity. Everyone could see a young face with long jet black hair, bright blue eyes and light purple skin. Like the same time Jeremy and Christine had run into her, she wore a ruby red armband on her left arm, with the maimed dark magic emblem on it. "Surprised to see me?"

"Who is this?" Bastion asked.

"You may call me Karina," she answered.

"She's a shadow duelist who kidnapped Christine in the abandoned dorm," Jeremy explained. "She was swallowed up by the Shadow Realm after I beat her in a duel. Apparently she found a way to come back."

"Why did you go after the others?" Christine inquired.

"To get your attention. After all, I did join the Shadow Riders. And I did agree to obtaining the spirit keys to free the Sacred Beasts." Her eyes suddenly narrowed upon taking notice of the medallion around Jeremy's neck. "Where did you get that?" she demanded, pointing to the object in question.

"I won it in a duel," Jeremy answered.

"It doesn't belong to you!"

Jeremy was about to reply when Christine stepped up and held an arm out for him to stay back. "I'll handle her."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes," she said, a determined expression on her face which was reflected in the tone of her voice.

"Okay then. Good luck." Christine walked up to the woman and stood with her duel disk at the ready.

"If you want to lose to badly, then so be it," the Shadow Rider scoffed. Her armband then extended into a duel disk complete with a deck, while Christine activated her own.

Christine: 4000

Karina: 4000

Both duelists then drew their starting hands. "You can go first," Karina said.

"Fine with me," Christine replied as she drew a sixth card. "I play a monster face-down and end my turn."

"That all? I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World." A gray skinned humanoid fiend with an evil look on its face and wearing a green robe appeared on the field. (1800) "Then I activate Stop Defense, forcing your monster into attack mode." Christine's face-down monster flipped up, revealing a Mystic Tomato. (1400) "Now attack." The fiend rushed forward and swung a clawed hand at the floating vegetable.

Christine: 4000-3600

"That didn't look good," Chumley remarked.

"And it's only going to get worse. When Brron deals battle damage, I can get rid of a card in my hand. Like Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World. And thanks to his effect, I can summon him." The spear wielding dark world monster rose next to Bronn. (1600)

"Aww man!"

"Don't worry Syrus," Bastion reassured him. "She's not completely defenseless."

"That's right," Christine spoke up. "Since Mystic Tomato was just destroyed in battle, I get to summon a dark monster from my deck in attack mode with up to 1500 points. And I choose another Mystic Tomato." A second floating red vegetable appeared on the Obelisk girl's field. (1400)

"Beiige, attack with Dark World Spear." The named creature charged forward and impaled the enemy monster.

Christine: 3600-3400

"This time I'll use Mystic Tomato's effect to summon Legendary Fiend." A muscular blue skinned creature with a black lower half and bat like wings of the same color appeared in front of Christine. It had four long pointy claws on each hand two additional necks on either side of its head, both with another head at the end. (1500)

"Good move," Zane commented.

"Yes," Banner agreed. "That Legendary Fiend has a powerful ability."

"I end my turn with one face-down."

"My turn. And during my standby phase, Legendary Fiend gains 700 attack points." The blue skinned monster was surrounded by a purple aura which granted it more power. (1500-2200)

"Sweet! She's got a monster with more points than either of Karina's," Jaden pointed out.

"Now attack Brron with Multiple Fiend Slash." Christine's monster lunged forward and struck the mad king with the claws on its hands, then bit down with its extra mouths.

Karina: 4000-3600

"Now I'll place one card face-down and a monster face-down."

"And I activate Dust Tornado to destroy your face-down spell or trap." A tornado came into existence and blew away Christine's card.

She frowned at this but did nothing further. "I end my turn."

"I play Graceful Charity, to draw three cards and discard three. And the cards I'm tossing out are Broww, Huntsman of Dark World and Repayment of Loses, which means I can draw two cards. Then I summon Zure, Knight of Dark World." The gray armored, sword wielding dark world monster rose beside its ally. (1800) "Next I'll play the spell, Dark World Banner." The dark banner appeared behind both fiends. "Attack. Blade of Darkness." Empowered by the banner's aura, Zure charged forward and cut down his enemy.

Christine: 3400-3200

"Beiige, destroy her face-down monster." Christine's other monster flipped up, revealing a yellow face mask with a red 'X' on the cheek, before it was destroyed by the incoming fiend.

"That was Mask of Darkness, which means I can take back a trap card from my graveyard."

"Very well then." I end my turn with two face-down cards."

"Now, when there are two or more dark monsters in my graveyard, I can remove two of them to discard Dark Nephthys. So I'll remove from play Mask of Darkness and one Mystic Tomato." Christine took back the cards and got rid of her monster in their place. "And when I do that, Dark Nephthys is summoned to the field during my next standby phase. In the meantime, I'll place this face-down, along with another hidden monster."

"She may be holding on, but the situation isn't exactly in her favor for the moment," Chazz noted.

"Really? Perhaps this will change your perception. I equip Zure with Big Bang Shot, giving him 400 more attack points and the power to inflict battle damage even through monsters in defense mode." (1800-2200) "Now attack." Zure started to advance, empowered by Karina's spell. (2200-2800)

"I play my face-down, Raigeki Break. So I can get rid of a card in my hand to destroy one card on your field."

"Not quite. I chain Trap Jammer." Christine's trap shattered and Zure went onward, only to be blocked by a small zombie wearing purple robes and holding a scythe. Enraged by his failure, he pushed his opponent aside and struck the Obelisk girl with his sword.

Christine: 3200-600

"No way!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Not good!" Alexis added.

"How could we let this happen?" Crowler freaked.

"Come on Christine!" Jeremy encouraged her. "You can do it! I believe in you!"

She stood straight and smiled at him. "Thanks Jeremy. Now, as you can see, even though I took damage, Spirit Reaper can't be destroyed in battle. Plus, I still get to draw a card since I got rid of my own Repayment of Loses."

Karina simply sneered at this. "I end my turn."

"Good. Since it's my standby phase, Dark Nephthys returns." A figure covered in dark gray armor with talons, a whip like tail and wings appeared on the field. It had a helmet covering its head and dark fire flared on its back. (2400) "And when its special summoned, I can destroy one spell or trap card." The winged beast flapped its wings, blowing fire towards Karina's field.

"I play my face-down, Divine Wrath. And by discarding a card from my hand, I can negate your monster's effect and send it straight back to the graveyard." A bolt of lightning shot out from her trap card and destroyed Dark Nephthys. "And the card I just discarded was another Repayment of Loses, so I can draw again."

"That may be, but now there are exactly three dark monsters in my graveyard. Meaning I can summon Dark Armed Dragon." The tall, muscular, black and silver dragon with spikes all over roared as it appeared on the field. (2800)

"All right!" Jeremy exclaimed. "She just pulled out her best card."

"Sweet move!" Jaden added.

"And now I'll activate his special ability, which lets me remove a dark monster from my grave to destroy one of your cards. So I'll remove Legendary Fiend, Mystic Tomato and Dark Nephthys to destroy Big Bang Shot, Dark World Banner and your Vanguard. And when Big Bang Shot is destroyed, the monster it's equipped to is removed from play." The powerful dragon extended its tail and shot out a flurry of spikes which destroyed Karina's named cards, and forced Zure off the field. "Now, Dark Armed Dragon, attack her directly." Christine's dragon's claw passed through her opponent, taking out a large chunk of her score.

Karina: 3600-800

"I'll end my turn with a card face-down."

"Way to go!" Alexis cheered.

"Nice," Erik said.

"Well played," Bastion inputted.

"Not bad," Karina admitted. "But don't start thinking about victory just yet. I play Pot of Greed, to draw two cards. Then I activate Tribute to the Doomed, so I can toss a card in my hand to destroy your dragon." A string of bandages suddenly appeared from the spell and went to wrap themselves around Christine's dragon.

"Don't think so. I play Magic Jammer and by discarding one card, I can negate your spell." The bandages suddenly dissolved before reaching their target.

"I place one card face-down and that's all."

"My turn."

"I reveal Thunder of Ruler. Now you can't attack me during this turn."

"Fine with me. I'll place this card face-down and call it a turn."

"I play Spellbook Inside the Pot, so we both draw three cards. Then I play Allure of Darkness, which lets me draw two cards, but then I have to remove a dark monster in my hand. Next I play Gateway to Dark World and bring back Brron." The mad king returned from the graveyard. (1800)

"Okay…" Jaden spoke up. "What's the point in doing that? He doesn't have nearly enough attack points."

"She must have something else," Bastion guessed.

"Exactly. I play Book of Moon."

"Oh boy," Jeremy muttered.

"Now I can flip your dragon face-down." Christine's monster disappeared and was replaced by a reverse card. "Now attack!"

"I reveal Enchanted Javelin. I may still lose my dragon, but at least I gain life-points equal to your monster's attack points."

Christine: 800-2400

Christine's face-down monster flipped up, only to be destroyed by the incoming fiend. "I end my turn with one card face-down."

"This is not lishus."

"She just lost one of her best cards," Syrus pointed out.

"Aye," Banner agreed. "This Shadow Rider is a tough one."

"That may be," Jeremy spoke up. "But Christine's tough too. You hear that?"

"Yep, and thanks," the Obelisk girl said as she drew her card. "I sacrifice Spirit Reaper to bring out Summoned Skull." The vampiric fiend arose in place of Spirit Reaper. (2500) "Now attack, Lightning Strike." Christine's creature sent out a blast of lightning which struck Brron and caused him to explode in a shower of pixels.

Karina: 800-100

"Alright! She's got her on the ropes now!" Jeremy pointed out.

"Now that Shadow Rider's down to a mere hundred points," Crowler added.

"But still, we shouldn't celebrate just yet," Erik advised.

Zane nodded at this. "After all, with a deck like this, she could still make a comeback."

"I end my turn with two cards face-down."

"I activate Card of Demise, allowing me to draw until I hold five cards." The Shadow Rider grinned at the cards that she now held.

"Uh oh, this can't be good," Syrus whimpered.

"Unfortunately, I doubt it is," Bastion agreed.

"Next I'll place a monster face-down and activate Creature Swap. So I'll give you my face-down monster and take your Summoned Skull." The two monsters disappeared and reappeared on the other's field. "Next I reveal the Forces of Darkness, which lets me take back two dark world monsters. And now I'll attack you with your own creature." Christine's stolen monster sent a blast of lightning towards her field, revealing and taking out a greenish jar with an eye and a mouth.

"Oh dear, that was a Morphing Jar," Banner stated.

"I guess that's bad," Chumley said.

"For her it is. Because now we send all the cards in our hands to the grave, then draw five more." Both duelists got rid of their hands and drew five cards. "And the cards I just discarded were Brow, Beiige and Sillva, Warlord of Dark World. And since Morphing was on your side of the field, it counts as if you forced me to discard."

"And their effects are even worse in those conditions," Jeremy pointed out.

"For the first, I can draw two cards, then I get to summon the other two." Beiige reappeared on the field. Accompanying him, was a tall figure decked out in dark gray armor, with a cape falling down his back, a helmet with horns and a mane and he held a very long knife in one hand. (1600) (2300) "Then for Sillva's effect, you take two cards in your hand and put them at the bottom of your deck." Christine grudgingly complied with the card's effect. "And now I'll attack you directly." Both dark world monsters rushed towards Christine's field, about to finish her off.

"Oh no!" Crowler shrieked.

"I'm not done yet," the blue haired girl interrupted. I play my trap, Dark Shining Wall." A wall made of dark purple glass suddenly appeared in front of her, stopping the attacking monsters in their tracks.

"What's this?" Karina asked.

"Not the end of the duel, that's what. When you make a direct attack on me, I can activate this card. And as long as long as it's out, I can negate an opponent's attack by simply removing a dark monster from my graveyard. I may only be able to use this effect twice per turn, but that's as much as I need right now." Christine then took Spirit Reaper and Dark Armed Dragon out of her graveyard.

"Alright! That was a close save," Jeremy commented.

"No joke," Erik added.

"At least with that trap card out, she'll be able to keep herself safe for a while," Zane remarked.

"I don't think so, and neither does this. Mischief of the Time Goddess." A collective gasp rose from the onlookers. "As your friends seem to know, I can skip to the battle phase of my next turn. Which means I can attack again with all my monsters." The two dark worlders advanced towards the Obelisk's field, while Summoned Skull unleashed lightning.

"I play my other face-down, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh, to add the original Kuriboh to my hand. Then I'll discard him to reduce the damage from Summoned Skull's attack to zero." A familiar small brown furry monster appeared in front of her, taking the hit from Summoned Skull's lightning attack. "Then I'll remove him and the Dark Crusader you forced me to discard in order to protect myself against Sillva and Beiige." The purple glass wall appeared around Christine as she took out her two monsters.

"Now that was a close one," Alexis spoke up.

"Too close," Christine said back.

"Your persistence is beginning to annoy me."

"Well get used to it, because I'm not about to give up."

"Atta girl," Jeremy said.

"I end my turn with one face-down. Make your move."

"Here it is. I summon Doomsday Horror in attack mode." The creature that appeared looked like a tiny black goblin with green eyes, pointed ears, small bat like wings, wearing earrings, bracelets and fur trousers. (?) "And the cool thing is this card's attack and defense points are equal to 300 times the number of dark monsters removed from play. And right now the count stands at eleven." The goblin grew until it stood just over Summoned Skull's height. (?-3300/?-3300)

"3300 attack points!" the Shadow Rider exclaimed.

"And that's more than enough to finish you off. Go, Terror Plague." The goblin monster reared its hands over its head, gathering a dark mist in them.

"Nice try, but not quite enough. I reveal Altar for Tribute, so I'll sacrifice Summoned Skull and regain life-points equal to his original attack points. And that's 2500." Christine's stolen monster disappeared in a flash, replenishing Karina's points.

Karina: 100-2600

"Even so, my attack's still going through." Doomsday Horror put its hands in front, unleashing its attack and destroying Sillva.

Karina: 2600-1600

"I end my turn."

"That stinks," Syrus said.

"At least she's got a really powerful monster," Jaden pointed out.

Karina frowned at the situation she was in. "I switch Beiige to defense mode and place one card face-down to end my turn." The spear wielding fiend went down on one knee as a reverse card appeared behind him. (1300)

"I summon Vorse Raider." The muscular beast-warrior rose on her field, grinning at it held its wicked curved axe. (1900) "Then I play Double Attack. By discarding a monster from my hand, one that I control can attack twice this turn. So I'll toss out Dark Necrofear to give Doomsday Horror two attacks. But first, Vorse Raider, destroy Beiige." Christine's lesser monster charged forward and sliced the enemy fiend in half. "Now go, Terror Plague." The powerhouse fiend charged up another attack in its hands and released it at her opponent.

"I reveal Draining Shield." A green dome materialized around Karina, blocking the attack and increasing her life-points.

Karina: 1600-4900

"Attack again." Doomsday Horror unleashed its third attack, bringing the Shadow Rider's life-points back down.

Karina: 4900-1600

"I end my turn."

"There might not be a huge gap in points, but at least Christine's still in the lead," Alexis said.

"Yeah, she's got a monster with 1900 and 3300 attack points," Chumley mentioned.

"I play Card Destruction and chain Defection, which lets me play one of my normal spells or traps as if it were yours. So we send all cards in our hands to the grave and draw the same number from our decks."

"Now her monsters' effects act as if Christine forced her to discard them," Bastion pointed out.

"I activate the effect of Gren, Tactician of Dark World. So I can destroy that annoying trap card of yours." Christine's Dark Shining Wall suddenly shattered. "Then I call upon Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World." The large golden armored fiend appeared on Karina's field, holding its large axe in both hands. (2300) "And thanks to his effect, you lose two more cards. I think you can guess which." Goldd swung his axe and cut down Christine's monsters. "Now all removed from play dark monsters go back into our graveyards." Both duelists put their required cards in their graves. "But that isn't very pressing right now. Goldd, attack her directly." Her fiend charged forward and swung its weapon hard enough to send the Obelisk girl crashing into the ground.

Christine: 2400-100

"Aww man!"

"Not lishus!"

"Great scott!"

"This isn't good!" Jaden added.

"We're doomed," Chazz muttered.

"Oh my!" Crowler freaked.

"Oh dear," Banner said.

"No…" Alexis murmured.

"This is bad," Zane noted.

"Yeah," Erik agreed.

"Come on Christine!" Jeremy spoke up. "Don't give up! I know you can do this and you know it too! Just keep trying!"

The blue haired girl got one knee and stood up straight. "Thanks Jeremy," she said with a warm smile. "I needed that. Now…" she turned her attention back to the duel. "Let's get back to it, shall we?"

"Very well then. I end my turn with two face-downs."

"Here goes… I play my own Card of Demise." As Christine picked up her cards, a figure emerged from one of the monster cards. It was a pale skinned, red eyed woman wearing a sleeveless purple suit with a blue chest piece and lower part. She also wore a pair of silver gloves, a winged helmet of the same color with a blue piece rising on the forehead, and to top it off, she had two angelic silvery wings.

"_Christine,_" the figure spoke to her in a soft voice. "_Use me, I can help._"

Though a little surprised by the appearance of the duel spirit, she still nodded and placed the card on her disk. "I summon Dark Valkyria in defense mode." The newfound spirit kneeled down in front of her partner. (1050) "Then I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn."

'Another one with a spirit?' Karina thought to herself. 'These children are too unpredictable for my liking.'

"Hey Jeremy," Jaden whispered to his friend. "That looks like it's her duel spirit."

"This must be the first time she's appeared," he replied.

"I play my face-down, Call of the Haunted to summon back Sillva, Warlord of Dark World." The silver armored fiend rose again. (2300) "Now attack."

"I play Negate Attack." A gust of wind pushed back the two fiends to their original positions.

Karina frowned at this. "I end my turn." 'If she attacks, my face-down will take care of things.'

"My turn," Christine announced. "Since Dark Valkyria is a Gemini, I can give up my normal summon to bring her out as an effect monster." A thin white aura came into existence around the feminine fairy. "Now she gains a spell counter and 300 attack points." (1800-2100) "Next I'll switch Valkyria to attack mode and give her Sword of Dark Rites." Christine's spirit monster stood up and grabbed and the oddly shaped blade in one hand. (2100-2500) "Now, take out her warlord." The now strongest monster flew up in the air, about to dive at the fiend.

"I activate Sakuretsu Armor." A spiky armor appeared in front of Sillva.

"I chain my Trap Jammer." The armor then shattered. "And that's not all. Since one of my counter traps just negated your effect, I can summon Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord." A humanoid dragon monster rose on Christine's field with a pair of grand wings on his back. His body was made of hard, dark armor with blue gems at the joints and one on his forehead. Energy crackled around him. (2800) "There's more. His effect changes depending on what type of card I negated. Since it was a trap, I can destroy one of your cards. Like Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World." The energy around him converged into the palm of his hand and shot out towards the named fiend, who exploded in a shower of pixels.

"Alright!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"And now my Valkyria's attack can destroy Sillva." The spirit monster dived down at the remaining enemy monster and sliced it in half with her sword.

Karina: 1600-1400

'No,' Karina thought to herself. 'How could this be?'

"Van'Dalgyon, end this duel." Crackling energy gathered around the powerful dragon's fist. He then swung his arm forward and threw a punch at the Shadow Rider, causing a bright explosion of light which forced everyone to avert their eyes.

Karina: 1400-0

When the light died down again, the holograms had faded away and Karina was nowhere to be seen. "Now that's showing em!" Jeremy cheered.

"Way to go," Alexis said.

"Tight duel," Jaden added.

The others pitched in a few comments of their own, but Christine hardly listened to them. Instead, she put away her deck, took off her disk and walked towards Jeremy. She then let her duel disk fall on the ground and grabbed the back of his head with both hands.

"Wha-?" Jeremy spoke up, but was cut off when she pressed her lips against his and kissed him deeply. His eyes widened and he stood still for a second, shocked by the unexpectedness of her action. But then he overcame his surprise and wrapped his arms around her back and returned the kiss. In that moment, it was as if nobody else existed and they were the only ones that mattered. They separated from each other after a brief yet intense moment, both of them a little short of breath.

Complete and total silence reigned around them, so much that it would have been possible to hear a pin drop. It was broken by the sound of Jaden whistling wolfishly.

"Well, it's about time," Alexis spoke up, a smile on her face.

"Good for you," Erik said.

"Sorry I was too thick to notice it before," Jeremy said to Christine.

"It's okay," she replied. "I actually tried to talk about it a few times before, but something kept interrupting, so I just decided to go with it."

"I'm glad you did."

"Come on you two lovebirds," Jaden said, urging everyone back the way they'd come. Christine picked up her disk and smiled happily to the blond boy, who smiled back in the same manner. They followed the others, walking hand in hand as their respective duel spirits looked at them while smiling themselves.

* * *

So, after much torment and multi failed attempts, Christine and Jeremy are finally together! YAYYYYY! And as usual, I hope that you liked it and if you don't mind, then please review.

**Here are the cards I made up:**

Dark Shining Wall  
Continuous Trap  
Effect: Activate only when your opponent declares a direct attack against you. Twice per turn, you can negate an opponent's attack by removing a dark monster from your graveyard.  
Image: A dark purple glass wall stopping a Flame Swordsman and Jack's Knight from going forward.

Defection  
Quick-Play Spell  
Effect: When one of your normal spells or traps activates, treat it as if it were your opponent's.  
Image: A white knight walking away from a bunch of others like him and towards a group of black knights.

**The Following card was made up by Snibbity Dibbity and is owned by him, and thank you to him for letting me use his cards.**

Repayment of Losses  
Normal Spell  
Effect: When this card is sent from your hand to the graveyard, draw one card.

**Next chapter:** The Shadow Riders aren't letting up just yet. There's a face amongst the bad guys' ranks that's familiar to some of the key-keepers.


	40. Fallen Angel Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX! There, I said it! Don't ask for more!

Thank you very much for Joshua Chung's help in the making on this chapter, and especially the duel. Also, his OC will be making his first appearance in this fic.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Fallen Angel – Part 1**

Late at night, darkness hung about Academy Island, with the moon and stars casting their own light. All around, everything remained undisturbed, from the forest, to the volcano, to the docks and the main building. Down at the Obelisk boy's dorm, Erik Smithson was lying still on his bed, yet awake even so. He spoke no words to himself, but was instead deep in thought. He remained like this for some time, until he was interrupted by what appeared to be a flash of light coming from the forest's general direction. The Obelisk boy quickly got to his feet and went to the window. But, when he looked outside, the surroundings were completely unchanged and there was no sign of anything unusual. Erik frowned at this, but simply returned to his bed, upon which he soon fell asleep.

* * *

At the edge of the woods, where the flash of light had popped up, a figure was standing alone. Though even if anyone had happened to have come by, they would have been hard pressed to discern any of the person's features. The individual in question was hidden within the shadows, effectively concealing all of himself, except for a pair of glowing red eyes. "Academy Island…" he muttered. "I'm back."

* * *

Away from this site, all the way to the Slifer Red dorm, there was also someone else who happened to be awake. Professor Banner was in his room, sitting at his desk while looking at the computer screen in front of him. The monitor seemed to show only static, but Banner still appeared to be talking to someone on the other end.

"You understand what must me done, do you not?" an old sounding voice spoke to the Slifer headmaster.

"But I thought that if I joined you it would be enough," he replied.

"To obtain what you wish, you must play out your role on both sides. You have yet to engage in a duel against a Shadow Rider. And unless you do so…"

Banner sighed upon hearing this. "Very well."

"Good," the old man's voice spoke up. "And I hope you're ready, because my next Shadow Rider has already arrived." The screen suddenly went blank, leaving the professor alone with his feline companion.

* * *

The next day, students from all three dorms were in the main building, going about their usual classes. As it happened, Jeremy was currently sitting in one of the classrooms, having gotten there ahead of his friends. He had gotten up earlier than usual in order to make a stop to the library where he'd picked up a book that he was now reading. He remained immersed in it when the bell rang and Banner walked to the front of the classroom to begin.

Not too long afterwards, Jaden and Syrus walked into the classroom and sat next to their friend, though he was so absorbed in the book that he failed to notice them. Jaden then chose to make their presence known as he gave Jeremy a pat on the shoulder. "Wassup?"

The blond Slifer jumped in surprise and turned his head right, looking at Jaden's smiling face. "Hey guys," he greeted back.

"Where were you earlier?" Syrus inquired.

"I just got up earlier than usual so I'd have time to make a stop at the library," Jeremy answered.

"Okay," Jaden said. "So whatcha reading?"

"Something that I'm not going to tell you what it is," he replied, closing the book shut and putting it away in a backpack lying next to his feet.

But even so, Syrus still managed to get a glimpse at the title. "Is that… Romance for Dummies?" he asked, snickering.

Jeremy remained frozen for a brief moment, knowing that he was inevitably caught. "Umm… no?" Both Syrus and Jaden laughed lightly at their friend's embarrassment and feeble attempt to convince them that the book was not what it was. "What's so funny anyway?"

"Nothing," Jaden responded. "I just never thought I'd see you reading something like that."

"Yeah, well… I ain't exactly a pro when it comes to this kind of stuff. And now that I've got a girlfriend, I figured that it'd be a good idea to know more."

"That's cool."

* * *

As the class went on, Banner proceeded to do some experiment in front of the students. The whole thing didn't take him much time, and nothing appeared to go wrong. Even when he picked up one vial and poured a purple liquid into another containing a green one it seemed to provoke no response, other than turning into a darker shade. But, after a moment, the liquid erupted and splashed into his face. He simply grabbed a rag and wiped off his face and glasses, before storing everything away and turning to the screen behind him.

"If I could have your attention please," he spoke to his students as the screen lit up. An image popped up, showing a boy dressed in clothes with green and pink lines, along with pieces of gray padding, and holding a curved sword in one hand. Another one came on the screen, this one of a blonde woman covered in dark grayish armor and wielding her own blade. "Now, can anyone give me the name of these two monsters?" The three Slifer friends just stared at the screen with clueless expressions on their faces. None of the other students seemed to have any idea of what they were. Banner went to continue until he saw an Obelisk boy with short, unruly black hair who raised his hand. "Yes?"

"The first one's D.D. Warrior, and the second one's D.D. Warrior Lady," he answered.

"And in what type of deck do these cards belong?"

"In a Different Dimension style deck, which focuses almost entirely on removing cards from play for various reasons."

"Very good," Banner commented. The bell then happened to ring, informing everyone that they were free to leave. "Class dismissed." The students then got up out of their seats and headed out to go to their next class, none of them seeing their professor looking at one Obelisk boy in particular with a light frown on his face.

* * *

Later on at around mid-day, Jeremy was by himself, sitting at a table in the main building's lunch room. In one hand he held a chicken leg which he was eating, and at the same time, he was reading the book he'd taken out of the library. He came across a paragraph that spoke of how to flirt, when all of a sudden, a pair of hands came over his eyes and he could no longer see. "Guess who," a feminine voice whispered into his ear.

Jeremy set down his book and swallowed the last bite of chicken. "Christine?"

"You got it," she replied, taking her hands off and sitting down next to him. "So, how're you doing?"

"Pretty good, especially since you're nearby," he said, flashing a grin.

Christine smiled in return and gave him a kiss on the cheek, which he gladly returned. "You must have been hungry," she commented, referring to his lunch box, which was now completely empty.

"Oh yeah… Hungry for you."

Christine giggled a bit at his words. "And since when did you learn how to flirt like that?" she asked teasingly.

"Uhhh… since not too long ago," he replied, showing her the romance book. She looked at the cover for a brief moment, before bursting out in laughter, a musical sound flowing from her lips. "Come on!" Jeremy protested. "Why does everybody have to laugh at me because of this book?"

"I'm sorry," she said between bouts of laughter. "It's just the idea of you reading something like that."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered.

"But I also think it's sweet that you're doing something like this. And you're cute too," she added, patting him on the cheek.

"Thanks. So are you."

"Excuse me," someone spoke up a few seconds later, causing both of them to turn their attention away from one another. They looked in the direction the voice had come from and saw an Obelisk boy with shoulder length black hair and blue eyes who was standing on the other side of the table. Jeremy recognized him from Banner's class. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Sure," the Slifer answered.

"Fine with me."

"Thanks," he muttered and sat down opposite them. "I'm Nales."

"Christine."

"And I'm Jeremy. Nice to meet you."

"Same here. You must be Jeremy Wheeler, right? Joey Wheeler's son and a Six Samurai duelist?"

"That's me alright," Jeremy said proudly.

"And you're Seto Kaiba's daughter," he added, turning his attention towards Christine.

"Yeah."

"Nice to meet you too."

"Thanks."

"Hey Nales," Jeremy spoke up. "Just curious, but do you run a Different Dimension deck?"

"No. Why'd you ask?"

"Dunno. Just seemed like you knew those cards pretty good."

The Obelisk boy simply shrugged his shoulders at this. His eyelids almost seemed to narrow for a split second, as if something in the lunch room had caught his attention, but his face returned to normal before Jeremy or Christine took note of this. "Fun talking to you. I'll be going now."

"Later," Christine and Jeremy said, and then he stood up and walked away from the table.

* * *

Erik sat at another table with Zane. The brunette boy had his cards laid out before him, while the Kaiser was sitting opposite him in silence. It remained like this for a while, until Zane took notice of a few particular cards. "You know…" he spoke up. "You could get a good combo if you put these four cards together."

Erik picked up the four cards in question and looked them over for a moment before agreeing. "Yeah. I guess it w-" he stopped mid sentence when he noticed someone at a table off to the left. He turned his head in that direction, only to see the black haired boy get up from Christine and Jeremy's table and walk away.

"Something wrong?"

"Just something about that guy… But I can't tell what."

"Hmmmm…"

* * *

After most of the day had gone by, a lot of the students were simply hanging around and generally doing nothing. Alexis, Mindy and Jasmine were in the card shop, but merely chatting away about everything and nothing. "Hey Lex," Mindy spoke up. "Where's Christine?"

"I think she's probably spending time with Jeremy."

"Didn't you know?" Jasmine asked. "They're supposed to be together now."

"Really?" Alexis nodded in confirmation at this. "Ooooo! She picked a good one. I mean, Jeremy is pretty cute." Mindy then happened to notice that Jasmine was looking at a particular black haired boy. "Hey Jas? Got your eye on someone?"

"Maybe," she answered. "There's nothing wrong with just looking, is there?" He stayed by himself for a bit, until he started to walk to get out. "Hi, I'm Jasmine," she said as he passed by the three girls.

The Obelisk boy stopped and turned to face them. "Nales."

"Cool name. This is Alexis and Mindy," she said as she introduced her friends.

"Hey."

For some reason, Alexis' PDA chose that specific moment to beep. "Excuse me." She held the object in her hand and brought up a typed message on the screen.

_Hello, Key-Keepers._

_I'll be coming out before long._

_Be sure one of you is prepared,_

_because I sure will be._

_See you soon!_

_The Fallen Angel._

"Sorry everyone, but I've gotta go." The blond girl put away her PDA and left the card shack behind. She walked through the corridors quickly, but stopped at the main entrance before running into the Slifer Headmaster. "Professor, did you also receive this Shadow Rider's message?"

"Yes I did. It must have been sent to all the key-keepers."

"Julianne said that there was another student brainwashed into becoming a Shadow Rider and that he called himself 'The Fallen Angel', just like this person signed their message."

"They said they would be coming out before long. So we'd best be on our guard." Alexis nodded at this and took off to go outside.

* * *

Banner simply stood still in his place, leaning against the wall with a contemplative expression on his face. His own PDA was still in his hand as he went over the contents of the Shadow Rider's message. He was interrupted from his thoughts when he saw the Obelisk boy, Nales, walking towards the exit outside. "Hello Professor," he greeted him.

"I'm afraid that I didn't quite catch your name," he responded.

"It's Nales."

"I see…"

"I'll be going if you don't mind."

"Of course."

Nales stepped through the doorway and walked outside. Banner watched him go for a moment, then turned his attention towards his PDA. Or more specifically, to the photo he'd just taken.

* * *

Later on in the day, Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley found themselves in the Red dorm's cafeteria while doing something they commonly did at that time, eating. "It sure looks like Jeremy's regained his appetite," Syrus commented to Chumley, as they watched their friends scarf down food like their lives depended on it.

"No joke. If he keeps eating like this, there's not gonna be any leftovers. Not that I'd mind if there were."

"Hey guys," Jeremy spoke up after swallowing a mouthful of potato salad. "You wouldn't happen to have seen Professor Banner since this morning?"

"No," Jaden answered.

"Me neither," Chumley added.

"I saw him for a second before dinner," Syrus said. "And then he shut himself up in his room."

"That's weird," Jeremy commented.

"Maybe he's got a load of work to do," Jaden suggested.

* * *

As it happened, Banner was working, but not at what the boys thought. He was sitting in front of his computer, with the screen showing two pictures he was comparing. One was of Nales, and the second was of one of the missing students. He frowned to himself as he looked them over meticulously. "Strange…" he muttered.

After a while, the Slifers' Headmaster picked up a piece of paper and pen from his desk and started to scribble. "Let's see…" He wrote down a name, and then happened to blot out one of the letters, which led to him rewriting it differently. "I knew it!" he exclaimed upon seeing his discovery. His PDA suddenly started to beep, and a message came up.

"_Shadow game, main entrance. Be there._"

"Stay here, Pharaoh," Banner said to his cat, before picking up his deck, disk, and going out the door.

* * *

At the Obelisk boys' dorm, Erik was walking towards the exit, when he passed by Zane. "Shadow Rider?" the elder Truesdale inquired.

"Yeah."

"You ready?"

"You need to ask?"

"Let's go then."

* * *

Over at the girls' end, Alexis and Christine met up with one another as soon as they got the message. "Come on Lex."

"Ready when you are."

* * *

In his room at the Ra Yellow dormitories, Bastion gathered one of his decks together, picked up his duel disk and was off.

* * *

And at the Slifer dorm, Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus walked out of their room, leaving Chumley behind, as he was currently sleeping. They spotted Chazz who was a short distance ahead of them, going towards the central building's main entrance. "Wait up, Chazz!" Syrus called out to him.

* * *

In front of the main building, a mysterious looking figure with a duel disk on their arm was standing alone. After a while of doing so, Banner came into view, duel disk on his arm and deck at the ready. "Hello, Professor," the person spoke up, walking out of the shadows, revealing himself to be Nales.

"Hello, Nales," Banner spoke up. "Or rather, should I call you Sean?"

The Obelisk boy chuckled maliciously at this. "It took you long enough to figure it out. And I thought that you knew your students."

The student key-keepers stopped in their tracks when they arrived at the scene and saw the Slifer headmaster and Obelisk boy facing each other. "Professor Banner?" Jaden spoke up. "What's going on here?"

"Is that Nales?" Syrus wondered.

"No," Banner answered. "It's just a disguise."

Nales then started to glow with a bright fiery color, causing everyone to avert their eyes. When the light died down, in his place, stood a well built boy with messy blond hair that fell to around his shoulders. A pair of blue eyes stared at them from a tanned face that suggested Asiatic origin. He wore a flaming red blazer, along with a simple gold hoop earring on each ear. Strangely enough, what looked like a pitch black halo was floating over his head.

"Aloha, Erik," he spoke to the boy in question.

"Sean," he stated.

"Umm… I take it you guys know each other?" Jeremy inquired.

"We were friends when we started out at Duel Academy last year," Erik answered.

"Sean Yoon Hee-Yong Kaumualii," Alexis said as she red his profile from the list of missing students. "16, Korean/Hawaiian, Obelisk, disappeared in his first year."

"That's me. Although I call myself 'The Fallen Angel', nowadays. But I'm sure you already knew that."

"So, you're the next Shadow Rider," Zane pointed out.

"Exactly. It's a pity you lost to Camula. I would've enjoyed dueling you."

"If you want our keys, you'll have to go through us," Christine declared.

"The Chazz will you on anytime."

"I'm ready and waiting," Bastion spoke up.

"Same here," Jaden added.

"Me too," Jeremy pitched in.

"Stay back, children," Banner said.

"Professor," Erik began.

"No. I must do this. I can't let any of you get harmed."

"Wow," Syrus muttered. "I didn't know Professor Banner could be so brave."

"Very well then. But if you lose, I'll be taking your spirit key."

"At least he's not asking for his soul too," Alexis noted.

"Your souls will all be worthless once the three Sacred Beasts are unleashed anyway. So why bother?"

Banner simply stared at Sean upon hearing this. Both of them then activated their duel disks and drew their first cards.

Sean: 4000

Banner: 4000

"I'll start, by playing Sanctuary in the Sky." They were suddenly surrounded by a stone palace floating amongst the clouds. "Then I summon Meltiel, Sage of the Sky in attack mode." A woman whose body was covered in white feathers and wearing thin orange armor appeared on the field. She also had a pair of wings on her back and a golden ring of light floating around her waist, though she appeared to have a darker tone. (1600) "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

"So, he's a fairy duelist," Christine remarked.

"I guess this explains the name 'Fallen Angel'," Jeremy commented.

Erik simply stared with a frown on his face.

"My turn," Banner announced. "I summon D.D. Assailant." A blond woman wearing grayish white armor with most of her face masked rose in front of the Slifer headmaster. She also held a large sword like weapon with two handles. (1700) "And now I'll have her attack." The assailant gripped her weapon with both hands and ran towards the enemy monster.

"I play Negate Attack." A transparent barrier appeared in front of the fairy, protecting it from the incoming weapon. "Now, because a counter trap was just played, Meltiel's effect gives me 1000 life-points." Sean's monster began to glow with an aura that spread towards the possessed student.

Sean: 4000-5000

"Also, with Sanctuary in the Sky on the field, I can also destroy one of your monsters." The ring around Meltiel's waist glowed brighter for a moment, and then sent out a pulse of energy that struck down Banner's warrior.

"I place two cards face-down to end my turn."

"That didn't look like a good start," Bastion commented.

"Sean's really good," Zane said. "When we dueled, he certainly wasn't easy to beat."

"He's that good?" Syrus asked. His brother simply nodded at this. "Aww man!"

"Anyway… I play Graceful Charity, to draw three cards, and discard two. Then I'll get rid of all spell and trap cards on the field thanks to Heavy Storm." A windstorm suddenly erupted, blowing away Banner's face-downs and Sean's field spell. "Next I discard Zeraldias, Herald of Heaven to add another Sanctuary in the Sky to my hand, then play it." Sean picked up the named card and played it, at which the field returned to its previous state. "And now I'll sacrifice Meltiel to summon Magestic Mech, Ohka." Sean's monster disappeared and was replaced by a four legged doglike creature with wings. It was seemingly made of white and reddish metal and had the same darkish appearance. (2400) "Now attack." The mech opened up its maw and started to gather energy.

"I activate the effect of Crypt Keeper's Minions," Banner interrupted.

"But there aren't any cards on his field," Chazz pointed out.

"It must be a card that activates in the graveyard," Alexis suggested.

"Once, when this card is in my grave, during my opponent's battle phase, I can use a normal trap card from my hand. And I choose Draining Shield." A green dome appeared around Banner in time to block the incoming blast of energy.

Banner: 4000-6400

"Not bad. I play two face-downs and end my turn."

"Well, at least he's holding on," Christine commented.

"But for how long?" Erik wondered.

"I play Spellbook Inside the Pot, so we both draw three cards. Then I'll play my own Heavy Storm."

"I don't think so. Go, Divine Punishment." A ray of light shot out from Sean's trap, obliterating Banner's spell card. Sean chuckled at this. "With Sanctuary in the Sky, this lets me negate an opponent's spell, trap, or monster effect and destroy it."

Banner simply frowned at this. "I end my turn with a face-down monster."

"Alright then. I reveal my second face-down, Light of Judgment. By discarding a light attribute monster from my hand, I can destroy a card on your field, but seeing as you only have one…" A second ray of light went from Sean's field and destroyed Banner's card. "Then I'll summon Magestic Mech Senku." A faceless humanoid made of white and blue with a pair of wings appeared next to its more powerful counterpart. (1000) "Now I'll attack with both of my monsters." Ohka fired off a blast of energy from its mouth, followed by Senku flying a Banner and punching him in the chest.

Banner: 6400-3000

"And when Senku attacks you directly, I can draw a card. Next I'll place three cards face-down and with my turn over, Senku goes to the graveyard." The named monster then disappeared off the field. "It's your move. Unless you'd rather surrender."

"I won't do that," Banner said as he got to his feet. "I will not allow any more of my students to be harmed. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes," he replied in a bored tone.

"Come on, Professor," Jaden encouraged him.

"Just keep at it," Jeremy added.

"Here I go. I summon D.D. Annihilator." A muscular red skinned beast with yellow fur covering parts of its body rose on Banner's field. (1000) "Then I activate Different Dimension gate. This removes from play one of my monsters, and one of yours." A portal appeared behind both duelists' monsters, sucking them in. "And when annihilator is removed from play, I can destroy one of your face-down cards." One of Sean's face-down cards shattered. "I end with a face-down of my own."

"Nice," Chazz commented. "He's finally got something going."

"Let's just hope that he can keep it up," Erik said. "Because Sean certainly can."

"My turn then. I reveal Beckoning Light, discarding all the cards in my hand to bring Senku and Meltiel back into my hand." The Shadow Rider got rid of his hand and took back his two monsters. "Then I'll summon Meltiel in defense mode and end my turn." The feminine fairy kneeled down in front of him. (1200)

"I place two cards face-down and activate Card of Demise, allowing me to draw five. Then I'll reveal Nobleman of Extermination, which lets me remove from play your face-down." A heavily armored man appeared on the field just long enough to slice Sean's face-down with a large sword. "Next I summon Dimensional Alchemist." The monster that appeared was a man wearing knightly armor, along with golden gauntlets and a blue cape. (1300) "And with his effect, once per turn, I can remove from play the top card of my deck to increase his attack points by 500." (1300-1800) "Then I activate Double Summon to bring out D.D. Crazy Beast." A mutated, four legged beast with a red body, vicious claws and rows of sharp teeth crawled out of a dimensional rip and settled down beside Banner's other monster. (1400) "Attack, my beast." The strange creature lunged forward and rammed into Meltiel, sending it through another hole in the air.

"Huh?" Sean said, apparently surprised by things.

"What just happened?" Jeremy wondered.

"It's my monster's special ability. When D.D. Crazy Beast destroys a monster in battle, it's removed from play instead of going to the graveyard."

"Now Sean can't use it again," Bastion pointed out.

"Not only that, but he's wide open," Jaden added.

"Dimensional Alchemist, attack him directly." The armored man gathered a ball of purple energy in his hands and hurled it at Sean.

Sean: 5000-3200

"Alright!" Syrus cheered.

"I guess he really can duel," Chazz commented.

"I end my turn, which means Dimensional Alchemist's attack points return to normal." (1800-1300)

"Not bad, Professor," Sean said, sneering at the word 'Professor'. "But don't get ahead of yourself. I play Pot of Greed, which of course, allows me to draw two cards. Then I activate Magical Stone Excavation, discarding two cards to take back Pot of Avarice. And then I'll play it, letting me shuffle five monsters into my deck, and draw two cards. Next I play my own Card of Demise, and chain Double Cyclone, which destroys one of your cards, and one of mine. So I'll choose Card of Demise and Different Dimension Gate." A pair of small tornadoes appeared on the field and blew away both named spell cards. A dimensional rip appeared in the air, from which the four legged mech and D.D. Annihilator came through. (2400) (1000)

"They came back?" Jeremy spoke up.

"Without Different Dimension Gate, both monsters that were removed from play return to the field," Zane explained.

"Next, even though it was destroyed, Card of Demise's effect resolves and lets me draw five. Next I'll sacrifice Majestic Mech Ohka to summon Airknight Parshath." The first monster disappeared and was replaced by what looked like a centaur with a white lower half. He was wore blue and gold armor, and had a green shield on one arm, and a sword the other. (1900) "Then I equip him with Shooting Star Bow – Ceal." The fairy put away his sword and grabbed the bow and appeared in front of him. (1900-900)

"What'd he do that for?" Jaden asked.

"It may cost him some points, but he can still strike you directly. But I'm not even going to do that. Instead, I'll play Release Restraint Wave, destroying my equip spell to get rid of all face-down cards on the field." Sean's monster pulled back on the bowstring, at which an arrow of light appeared in it, which he then released at Banner's face-down. That done, he pulled out his sword again, regaining his original points. (900-1900) "Now he'll take out your Annihilator." The fairy monster galloped forward and sliced Banner's creature in two with its sword.

Banner: 3000-2100

"This doesn't look good," Alexis commented.

"Banner's doing well, but it looks like Sean has a counter for almost every move he makes."

"Uh huh," Erik nodded absentmindedly. "He's good at countering other people's moves. And when he does, it hurts."

"Since Airknight Parshath dealt damage to you, I can draw a card. And now I'll end my turn."

"I use Dimensional Alchemist's effect again." (1300-1800) "Next I'll activate my own Pot of Greed. Then I switch D.D. Crazy Beast to defense mode and end my turn with a face-down." The red bodied beast crouched down into a defensive position as Alchemist's points returned to normal. (1400) (1800-1300)

"I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down." A whirlwind emerged from the named card and blew away Banner's card. "Then I'll have Airknight Parshath attack Dimensional Alchemist." Sean's monster galloped forward again and sliced his enemy in half, though Banner took no damage.

"That's strange," Jeremy remarked.

"Why didn't he lose any life-points?" Chazz wondered.

"It's because of the field," Bastion pointed out. "With Sanctuary in the Sky, neither player takes damage from a battle involving a fairy type monster they control. So that would imply that Dimensional Alchemist is a fairy."

"That he is," Banner said. "Furthermore, when he's destroyed and sent to the grave, I can add a monster to my hand that was removed from play."

"Nice move," Alexis commented.

"I end my turn."

"Here I go," Banner said as he drew. "I play my own Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Sanctuary in the Sky." A blue typhoon appeared and blew away the field spell. "Now I shall summon a monster that will bring Sean back from the shadows."

"You wish."

"I sacrifice D.D. Crazy Beast to summon White Horned Dragon." A tall red dragon with a long tail, wide wings, white claws and a long white horn rising from the middle of its forehead appeared in the beast's place. (2200) "When normal or special summoned, my dragon can remove from play up to five spells in your grave. I'll choose, Heavy Storm, Pot of Avarice, Card of demise and both copies of Sanctuary in the Sky." The dragon's horn glowed briefly, forcing Sean's named cards out of his grave. "Then, for every card removed by this effect, White Horned Dragon gains 300 attack points." Banner's dragon roared as it was powered up. (2200-3700) "Attack. White Lightning Shock." The powerful creature shot out a large bolt of lightning from its horn, which struck Airknight Parshath and destroyed him.

Sean: 3200-1400

"Way to go!" Jaden cheered.

"Wicked move!" Jeremy added.

"He's really pulled out a good one," Alexis noted.

"He has the strongest monster yet," Christine pointed out.

"I end my turn."

"I play Spellbook Inside the Pot." Both players drew three cards. Sean smiled maliciously as he saw what he now held.

"Aww man," Syrus moaned. "I don't like the looks of this."

"Neither do I," Erik pitched in.

"Next I'll place a card face-down and force its activation with Bait Doll. And the card is question is Aegis of Gaia, which grants me 3000 more life-points."

Sean: 1400-4400

"Now I'll discard Zeraldias once again, to add the third Sanctuary in the Sky to my hand, then activate it." The floating sky palace appeared once again. "Next I play Monster Reborn to bring back Airknight Parshath." The centaur fairy reappeared on the field. (1900) "Then, by sacrificing him, I can special summon Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin." Sean's monster started to shine brightly as it transformed. When it was finished, it had turned into a regal humanlike figure clothed in a mass of white feathers, with a pair of wings. It wore blue and gold armor, and also has a blue and gold shield, as well as a sword. (2300)

"What's the big deal with this guy?" Chazz wondered. "It still has less attack points than Banner's Dragon."

"It must have a powerful ability," Zane pointed out.

"You're right. When I have more life-points and Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, his attack and defense points increase by the difference." The majestic fairy glowed brightly as it absorbed more power. (2300-4600/2000-4300) "Finally, I play Block Attack, forcing your dragon into defense mode." The red dragon crouched down in a defensive position. (1400) "And in case any of you are wondering why I did that, my Sky Paladin has the power to deal damage through defending monsters."

"I'm sorry, children," Banner said. "Protect the keys."

"Touching speech," the Shadow Rider said. "You done yet?" The Slifer headmaster simply stared at him in response. "I'll take that as a yes. Paladin, obliterate him. Radiant Blade Devastator." The super powered monster raised its weapon and swung it downward, sending out an arc of energy which destroyed White Horned Dragon and struck Banner head on, depleting the rest of his life-points.

Banner: 2100-0

The holograms then faded away, at which the victorious duelist walked over to Banner's prone form. He held his hand out, and the professor's spirit key floated up, and then disappeared. "Another one gone. Your time's running out," he addressed the others, then turned his attention towards Erik specifically. "See you tomorrow night. Until then." That said, he disappeared in a flash of light.

'I'll set you free, my friend,' Erik thought to himself. 'I swear it.'

* * *

Okay. I hope you liked it, and pleeeeeeease review. And by the way, the thing about Nales, if you take out the 'l', and then write it backwards, you get 'Sean'.

**Card I made up**:

D.D. Annihalator  
Attr: Earth  
Type: Warrior  
Lv: 4  
Atk/Def: 1000/1000  
Effect: When this card on the field s removed from play, you can select 1 face-down card your opponent controls and destroy it.  
Image: A muscular red skinned beast with yellow fur covering parts of its body.

(This is basically a counterpart to 'D.D. Destroyer')

**Next chapter:** Banner's been beaten, and the last possessed student Shadow Rider is still at large. Erik is determined to win and return his friend to normal.


	41. Fallen Angel Part 2

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH GX!

Once again, my most profound thanks to Joshua Chung and The Duelist of Dawn for their help in the making of this chapter.

**

* * *

**

**Fallen Angel – Part 2**

The following day, Professor Banner's classes had been cancelled since he was unable to attend, due to his match against Sean, or the Fallen Angel as he called himself. Jeremy, Jaden, Chazz, Alexis, Christine and Bastion were hanging around the infirmary, while their teacher was sleeping in a hospital bed. "Well… this stinks," Chazz said to break the silence between them.

"Now those Shadow Riders are even closer to unleashing the Sacred Beasts," Alexis stated.

"They've got three of our spirit keys already," Christine added.

"And that guy Sean is pretty tough," Jaden pointed out. "Even worse than Camula."

"Yeah," Jeremy agreed. "She may have cheated and gone after people's souls, but at least we could counter that with our charms. This guy doesn't even need tricks like that."

"It's too bad that Julianne wasn't able to tell us more about him," Bastion pondered. Ms. Fontaine walked into view at that moment.

"Is he going to be okay?" Jaden asked.

"He's just a little bit roughed up, but he'll be fine," she answered. "He should come around pretty soon."

"That's reassuring," Jeremy said.

"Why don't you all leave him be and get back to your classes? He'll be fine just resting."

"Okay then." The six of them walked out of the infirmary and left its patients alone with Ms. Fontaine.

* * *

At the same time, Erik was sitting in one of Dr. Crowler's classes. But though he was usually attentive, this time around he wasn't paying any attention to the teacher or what he was doing. Instead, Erik's mind was wandering off by itself, thinking of his friend turned Shadow Rider.

* * *

(Flashback)

Erik walked out of his room in the Obelisk Blue dorm, having just finished unpacking his things. He, and all the other first years, had only just arrived in the morning. He went down to the common room where a gang of boys were just lazing about. Not particularly interested in making conversation with any of them, he simply walked past and went outside. "Aloha," someone greeted him.

He looked to his right and saw a boy with messy blond hair who had his back against a tree. "Wadda you want?"

The other boy raised a questioning eyebrow at this. "Just saying hi."

Erik sighed. "Sorry. I got in a row with my dad before coming here and I'm still feeling pissed off at him."

"Sorry to hear that," he responded with a sympathetic expression. "I'm Sean Yoon Hee-Yong Kaumualii. But you can just call me Sean."

"I'm Erik Smithson," the brunette boy said as they shook hands. "But just Erik will be fine."

* * *

(End Flashback)

Erik was taken away from his thoughts by the sound of the bell ringing, announcing that the class was now over. He stood up from his seat and walked out of the classroom, along with the rest of the students. He wandered through the corridors almost aimlessly for a while, until he passed in front of the doors leading to the gymnasium. "Hey Erik," a feminine voice called out to him. He turned around and happened to see Jasmine and Mindy walking up to him.

"What is it?"

"Someone asked us to give you this," Mindy responded, handing a blank envelope.

"Really?" he muttered as he opened it up and pulled out a small piece of paper with some writing on it. He froze as his eyes scanned its contents. It read:

_Aloha._

_It's been a while since our last duel._

_For your own sake, I hope you've gotten better._

_I'll meet you there tonight._

_Same place, same time._

_The Fallen Angel._

"Who gave this to you?"

"I'm not sure. What was his name again?"

"I'm pretty sure it was Nales," Jasmine answered.

Erik frowned at this. "His name is Sean. And Nales is just a disguise."

"Huh?" Mindy said, visibly confused, as was her friend. "What're you talking about?"

"No one told you?" They shook their heads in response. "He's one of the missing students. And now he's been brainwashed into becoming a Shadow Rider."

"But he looks too nice to be someone like that," Jasmine protested.

"Ask Alexis, Christine, Jaden or any of the others. They'll confirm it." With that said, he pocketed the letter and started towards his next class, while his mind mulled over the contents of the message and fragments of memories.

* * *

Later in the day, Jeremy and Christine were in the hallways, walking hand in hand. "It's too bad that Banner lost," the Slifer boy spoke up.

"Yeah," his girlfriend agreed. "Most of us seemed sure he was going to win after he pulled out his White Horned Dragon."

"I guess it just goes to show you how fast a duel can turn around," Jeremy muttered. "I mean, if I hadn't pulled out my Hidden Armory spell, I probably would've lost against Blank." Christine was about to reply when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, causing Jeremy to halt as well. "What is it?"

"Look," she said, pointing to down a corridor on their left. Standing at the far end of the corridor, was Nales, as they remembered him from before he'd revealed his true identity. "What's he doing here?" Though too far for conversation, he still smiled tauntingly at them and showed a hand with three fingers raised, before walking out of their sight.

* * *

After classes had finished, Jaden, Jeremy, Alexis, Christine, Chazz and Bastion were gathered in the library, while discussing what they should do about Sean. "Well, anyone got any ideas?" Alexis asked.

"Just let The Chazz get at im and he'll be toast in no time."

"And exactly how do you plan on defeating him?" Christine inquired. "I think my deck is better suited to take him on."

"I may be inclined to disagree," Bastion spoke up. "Though I'm not of the opinion that Chazz is the one for the job, there are some cards that Sean might have that would render a dark deck like yours vulnerable."

"Do you have any suggestions on how to beat this guy?" Jeremy asked.

"Actually," the Ra student began. "Since practically all of his monsters are light attribute, that in itself would present an opportunity."

"Wadda you mean?" Jaden inquired.

"Well, given a little bit of time, I'm certain that I could put together a deck that would specifically work against light monsters."

"That may be, but I'll be the next one to duel him," Erik said as he walked in.

"Hey Erik," Jaden greeted him.

"Are you sure about this?" Alexis asked.

The boy in question looked at them all as he answered. "Look… I know you're trying to figure out the best strategy to beat Sean. But, he's my friend, and as such, I'm dueling him."

"Do you even know how-" Chazz began, but was interrupted by the brown haired Obelisk who stared at him sternly.

"I wasn't making a request."

"Okay then," Jeremy said. "If you want to duel Sean and try to set him right, I promise I won't interfere."

"Me neither," Jaden confirmed.

"Same here," Alexis and Christine added.

"If that's what you want, so be it," Bastion pitched in, then elbowed Chazz in the side.

"Oh… yeah. What they said."

"Good. If you want to watch the duel, be on the roof at 9:00." Erik then turned around and went to leave.

"Where are you going?" Alexis asked.

He turned his head and looked back. "To get ready."

* * *

Later again in the day, after the evening had settled around Academy Island, Erik was sitting at a desk in his dorm room. He had some of his cards laid out before him, but was only half paying attention to them, as his mind was off wandering again. This time he was thinking of his duel against Sean, before he'd mysteriously disappeared.

* * *

(Flashback)

It was fairly late in the evening as Erik and Sean were standing on the roof of the academy's main building. Both were wearing their disks and were in the middle of a duel.

Erik: 2000

Sean: 2000

Sean had Consecrated Light in defense mode. (0) Erik, for his part, had Summoned Skull in attack mode, equipped with Dark Energy. (2800) "Still hanging in there?" Sean asked in a friendly taunting manner.

"You bet," Erik replied with a grin. He then drew a card from his deck, giving him two.

"Bring it on."

"Alright. I may not be able to attack because of your monster's effect, but I can still play Makiu, the Magical Mist. By choosing a thunder type monster I control or Summoned Skull, I can destroy one of your monsters with less defense points than my monster's attack points. And since Consecrated Light has none, it's history." A purple mist suddenly appeared around Sean's monster, and when it faded away, the little ball of light was gone. "The downside is that I have to skip my battle phase. So my turn's over."

"My move then," Sean announced as he drew a fourth card. "First, I play the Ritual Spell, End of the World. And by discarding Voltanis the Adjudicator, I can summon Ruin, Queen of Oblivion." A regal looking woman with long white hair, dressed in red and black, and holding a red scepter rose on the field. (2300)

"She still can't beat my monster," Erik pointed out.

"I'm not done yet. Next up, I play Celestial Transformation. This lets me summon a fairy type monster from my hand, except that its attack points are cut in half, and it's destroyed at the end of the turn. But that won't matter, because the monster I'm summoning is Hoshiningen." A yellow star shaped creature with a face and legs appeared next to Ruin. (500-250) "Thanks to his special ability, all light attribute monsters gain 500 attack points, and all dark attribute monsters lose 400 attack points." The star monster shone for a moment, empowering Sean's fairies, while Erik's fiend shed away from the light. (2300-2800) (250-750) (2800-2400)

"Nice move," the brunette boy admitted.

"The best is yet to come. Ruin, attack Summoned Skull." The feminine fairy dashed forward and sliced her opponent in two with a swing of her scepter.

Erik: 2000-1600

"And when she destroys a monster in battle, she can attack again." Ruin swung her scepter at Erik, depleting the rest of his life-points.

Erik: 1600-0

"Damn, you're good."

"You too," Sean said. "We'll have to duel again sometime."

* * *

(End flashback)

As Erik's mind was brought back to reality, he looked at a clock on his desk and saw that the time was 8:45. "Better get moving." He put his cards back in his deck case, strapped on his duel disk and walked out the door. As he was going through the corridor, Zane almost seemed to come out of nowhere and followed beside him.

"Sean again?"

"Yeah. And this time, I'll break the shadows' control over him."

* * *

At the moment, Sean, or the Fallen Angel, was standing on the main building's roof with his disk at the ready. His appearance was the same as during his duel against Banner, from the fiery red blazer to the black halo above his head. He stood there waiting, until Erik came up the stairs, along with Zane, Alexis, Christine, Bastion, Chazz, Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley who remained behind him. "Right on time," he said upon seeing them.

The brown haired Obelisk boy took out his deck and inserted it into his disk. "Let's just get this started."

"You sure aren't wasting any time," Sean replied as he inserted his own deck. "Fine with me." Both of them then activated their disks and drew their starting hands.

Erik: 4000

Sean: 4000

"Hope you don't mind if I go first," Sean asked.

"Just go."

"Alright then. I'll start by playing Sanctuary in the Sky." The familiar stone palace in the clouds surrounded the playing field.

"Uhh, what does this do?" Chumley inquired.

"It stops either players from taking damage when one of their fairy monsters battles," Christine explained.

"Not only that, but it also let's Sean use powerful effects that require it to be on the field," Bastion added.

"Like Meltiel or Divine Punishment," Syrus said.

"And don't forget Sky Paladin," Jeremy pointed out. "With enough life-points, that thing's a real powerhouse."

"I'll end my turn by placing a monster face-down and two card face-down." A reverse monster and two more hidden cards appeared on the field.

"My turn then," Erik announced as he drew. "I summon Machine King Prototype." A red and gray humanoid machine with a yellow head and visor stood up on the field. (1600) "Attack." The mechanical monster ran forward with a fist reared back. An orange circle with bluish wrapping, little white wings and a green core appeared, only for the incoming monster to strike it down with a hard punch.

"You activated Nova Summoner's effect. When destroyed in battle, I can summon a fairy type monster from my deck with up to 1500 attack points. But with Sanctuary in the Sky, I can summon Airknight Parshath instead." The centaur fairy rose in place of its fallen ally. (1900)

"This doesn't look good," Chazz muttered.

"I'll place two face-downs of my own and hands things over to you."

"I reveal Solemn Wishes. So when I draw, I gain 500 life-points."

Sean: 4000-4500

"And for the matter of your metal toy… Airknight Parshath, attack." The named monster galloped towards Erik's field.

"I activate Mirror Force." A glass barrier appeared in front of the incoming enemy, though Sean didn't seem fazed by it.

"I chain Trap Jammer to negate it." The barrier shattered, allowing the monster to charge through the slice Erik's machine in two.

Erik: 4000-3700

"And of course, Airknight's effect let's me draw one card when he deal damage to you. Which increases my life-points because of Solemn Wishes."

Sean: 4500-5000

"I end my turn."

"He's got a tough combo there," Jaden noted.

"But Airknight isn't going to be around for much longer," Erik stated. "I reveal Call of the Haunted to summon back Machine King Prototype." The previously defeated machine resurrected to Erik's field. (1600) "Then I'll sacrifice him to summon the original Machine King." A taller machine with a helmet over its head and large square arms rose in place of its predecessor. (2200) "And he gains 100 attack points for each machine on the field, including himself." (2200-2300) "Now crush his monster with Rocket Fist." The impressive machine swung one of its arms forward, releasing the fist which flew towards the centaur and caught him full in the chest.

"As you obviously knew, Sanctuary in the Sky prevents me from taking damage when one of my fairies gets in a battle."

"I end my turn with another face-down."

"Not a bad move," Zane murmured. "But this is far from over."

"My turn again," Sean said as he picked up another card.

Sean: 5000-5500

"I remove Airknight Parshath and Nova Summoner from my graveyard in order to bring out Soul of Purity and Light." A shining, transparent, angelic woman materialized in front of Sean. Strangely enough, she seemed to have a saddened expression on her face. (2000)

"That's strange," Alexis remarked.

"What is?" Jaden asked.

"That monster seems… sad."

"Now I sacrifice her for Agent of Judgment - Saturn." A woman with purple skin and wings appeared on the field, dressed in a in a slim white and dark blue robe, wearing a headpiece and jewellery. (2400) "Next up, I'll equip her with Cestlus of Dagla, giving her 500 more attack points." A pair of 'D' shaped daggers appeared in her hands. (2400-2900) "Now she'll put her new weapons to good use and take down your Machine King." Sean's monster flew towards her opponent and sliced him apart with her daggers.

Erik: 3700-3100

"I activate my trap, Damage Condenser. So by discarding one card, I get to summon a monster from my deck with attack points up to the damage I took. And I choose Bokoichi the Freightening Car." A red train car with a 'face' at the end appeared in front of Erik. (500)

"Even so, with Dagla's effect, the life-points you lost become my gain."

Sean: 5500-6100

"That'll be all for now."

"This isn't looking good," Chazz muttered.

"Sean's hacking away at Erik's life-points and increasing his own at the same time," Bastion pointed out.

"Come on," Jeremy said. "I'm sure he can turn this duel around."

"Let's hope," Zane added.

"I play Pot of Greed. And change Bokoichi to defense mode." The machine lowered itself. (500) "Then I'll activate Machine Duplication, which lets me pick a machine I control with 500 attack or less, and summon the others from my deck." Two more red train cars materialized on either side of the first. (500) x3 "I'll finish up with a monster face-down and one card face-down."

Sean: 6100-6600

"Agent of Judgment, slice n dice."

"Don't think so. Go, Negate Attack." A gust of wind blew back the charging fairy, forcing her to remain on Sean's field.

He looked at this with an almost bored expression. "I end my turn. But I must say, so far, you've been a disappointment. I expected you to put up more of a fight than this."

"Oh? You mean something like this? I flip summon Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive." A dark purple locomotive with an angry looking face appeared from a cloud of steam. (1400) "Thanks to its effect, I get to draw a card and an additional one for every Bokoichi the Freightening Car I have out in play."

"Decent move, I suppose," the Shadow Rider said.

"You haven't seen anything yet. I sacrifice two freightening cars and summon Perfect Machine King." Two of the red train cards disappeared and made way for the giant red and white metal humanoid. (2700) "And thanks to his effect, he gets 500 more attack points for every machine on the field, other than himself." (2700-3700) "But that's not all, I also have Clockwork Night. With this, all my machines get 500 more attack points, all your monsters become machines and they lose 500 attack points." Sean's agent of judgment turned into metallic gray color and slumped a little, unable to handle the weight. (3700-4700) (1400-1900) (500-1000) (2900-2400)

"Alright!" Jeremy cheered. "Now he's got a super powered monster ready to steamroll the opposition."

"Not only that, but since Agent of Judgment isn't a fairy, Sanctuary in the Sky can't protect Sean's life-points," Bastion pointed out.

"Perfect Machine King, attack Saturn with Rocket Booster Fists." The powerhouse machine lifted both its arms, which shot out and rocketed towards the fairy turned machine. She feebly tried to defend herself, but was obliterated regardless.

Sean: 6600-4300

(4700-4200) "Dekoichi, attack him directly. Derailing Charge." The purple locomotive charged up steam and advanced towards Sean, passing through him like a ghost, but not without bringing his life-points further down.

Sean: 4300-2400

"Now that is a sweet comeback!" Jaden commented.

"Yeah, he took a huge chunk out of his life-points," Chumley remarked.

"Way to play, Erik!" Syrus cheered.

"Nice going," Zane added.

"Thanks," the brunette Obelisk boy said. "I'll end my turn now."

Sean: 2400-2900

"I see you've gotten better," Sean noted. "Good, I was hoping for a challenge. Anyway, I'll place this face-down and activate Card of Demise."

Sean: 2900-3400

"Then I summon Shining Angel." A man dressed in a toga with four widespread golden wings appeared. (1400) "Attack his freightening car with Angelic Dive." The new fairy leapt up in the air and dove down at the weakest machine, plowing through it. (4200-3700) "That's all."

"I attack your Shining Angel with Perfect Machine King. Rocker Booster Fist." The powerful humanoid raised an arm and shot out his fist, which crashed through his enemy.

"When Shining Angel is destroyed in battle, I can summon a light attribute monster from my deck in attack mode with up to 1500 points." A second Shining Angel rose in place of the first. (1400)

"Then I'll destroy that one with Dekoichi." The purple train charged forward and rammed its opponent, causing it to explode in a shower of pixels.

"I summon the third one in its place." The last Shining Angel arose. (1400)

"Your move."

Sean: 3400-3900

"I reveal Aegis of Gaia, granting me 3000 life-points, as long as it remains on the field."

Sean: 3900-6900

"Then I play Pot of Greed, to draw two cards and gain 500 more life-points."

Sean: 6900-7400

"And I'll equip Shining Angel with Black Pendant, giving him 500 more attack points." A dark purple pendant in a gold casing appeared around the fairy's neck. (1400-1900) "Attack Dekoichi with Angelic Dive."

"Go, Derailing Charge."

"It's an even match-up," Syrus pointed out as both monsters charged each other. They collided and both of them were destroyed.

(3700-3200) "Not only does your Perfect Machine King lose more points, but since Black Pendant was sent to the graveyard, you lose 500 life-points."

Erik: 3100-2600

"And let's not forget my angel's effect. This time I'll use it to summon Agent of Force – Mars." A muscular red skinned fairy also dressed in red and holding a double sided hammer descended onto the field. (0)

"Zero attack points?" Chumley wondered.

"What's the big deal?" Chazz asked.

"His life-points are a big deal," Zane pointed out.

"That's just it," Sean said with a smirk. "As long as Sanctuary in the Sky is on my side, and my life-points are higher, Agent of Force gains attack equal to the difference." The red fairy glowed with a violent aura as it absorbed power. (0-4800) "Pound his monster into dust." The possessed student's creature flew forward and smashed its hammer into Perfect Machine King.

Erik: 2600-1000

(4800-6400) "That ends my turn. And just so you know, my agent of force is completely off limits to any spell cards."

"Not lishus."

"Sean's taken the lead again," Syrus said.

"Not only does he have a powerful monster on the field, but he took away all the damage he's received so far," Bastion added.

Erik's determined expression didn't waver in the least, despite the situation being against him like it was. "I activate Monster Reborn, and bring back Batteryman AA." A small battery with orange limbs and a head appeared on the field. (0)

"When did that end up in the graveyard?" Syrus wondered.

"When I used Damage Condenser," Erik answered. "Next up, I'll chain Inferno Reckless Summon, to bring out the other two from my deck." Two more identical monsters appeared in a flash next to the first. (0) x2 "And with three on the field in attack mode, they all gain 3000 points." Electricity coursed through the thunder monsters. (0-3000) x3

"Not a bad move," Sean said. "But none of them comes close to the attack power my Agent of Force has."

"Alone they don't. But with Union Attack, one of them gains the attack points of the others." (3000-9000) "Destroy his Agent of Force." The middle batteryman jumped in the air and fried Sean's monster with a lightning bolt. "Fortunately for you, only that monster can attack. So I'll place a face-down and call it a turn." (9000-3000)

Sean: 7400-7900

"I activate the spell, End of the World. And by sacrificing the level 8 Tualatin from my hand, I can summon a monster you might recognize. Ruin, Queen of Oblivion." The regal, feminine fairy stood tall on Sean's field, holding her curved scepter in one hand. (2300) "Then I activate Block Attack to switch one of your battery monsters to defense mode." One of the orange batterymen crouched down into a defensive position. "And since they aren't in the same battle mode anymore, their points go down to zero." (3000-0) x3

"Aww man!" Syrus moaned.

"If this hits, he's done for," Bastion said.

"Ruin, attack!" The ritual monster dashed at one of Erik's attack position monsters.

"I activate my trap card Shift. With it, I can force your monster to attack my batteryman that's in defense mode." The fairy deviated from her original target and sliced apart the defending monster. (0-2000) x2

"Whew!" Chumley exclaimed. "That was a close one."

"It's not done yet," Zane said.

"He's right. You see, when Ruin destroys a monster in battle, she's granted an extra attack." The monster in question swung her scepter again, cutting another batteryman in half.

Erik: 1000-700

(2000-1000) "I end my turn."

"I switch my batteryman to defense mode." Erik's remaining monster crouched down in front of him. (1000-0/0-1000) "Then I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

Sean: 7900-8400

"Ruin, attack." The feminine monster dashed at the brown haired Obelisk's field again, terminating his last batteryman. "And of course, now she can hit you directly."

"Don't count on it, because I have a trap. It's called Battery Recycling. When any of my battery monsters is destroyed in battle, I can immediately end your turn." A transparent Batteryman AA appeared long enough to give Sean's duel disk a small shock.

"Fine then," he said in an annoyed tone.

"Here goes… I activate Graceful Charity, so I draw three and toss out two. Now I remove two Batteryman AA to summon Batteryman Industrial Strength." A large gray box like monster with a head sticking from the top and an arm at each side appeared on the field. (2600) "And thanks to his effect, I can remove a thunder type monster from my graveyard to destroy one monster and one spell or trap card." Erik took his last Batteryman AA from his graveyard as the more powerful monster grabbed a pair of wires from its back and shot out two blast of electricity, destroying Ruin and Sanctuary in the Sky. "With that out of the way, I'll attack you directly." The batteryman then spun one of its wires and whipped it at the defenseless Shadow Rider.

Sean: 8400-5800

"I end my turn with a face-down."

"Finally, he got rid of that field spell," Syrus said.

"But he still has two more in his deck," Alexis reminded him.

"Let's just hope that he doesn't get one," Jaden spoke up.

"Especially if he has that paladin at the ready," Chazz added.

"Cause if he does, he's got a load of life-points to boost his power," Jeremy pitched in.

Sean: 5800-6300

"You may think my life-points are high now, but I'm about to get a lot more. First, I play Spell Absorption. Now, after a spell's effect resolves, I gain 500 life-points. And I'll add Spellbook Inside the Pot, so we both draw three cards, which also means I gain 1000 points."

Sean: 6300-7300

"Then I play Graceful Charity. And of course, I get to draw three more cards, but I have to get rid of two."

Sean: 7300-8300

"Next comes Dian Keto the Curemaster."

Sean: 8300-9800

"Then I activate Junk Dealer, to bring back two copies of Zolga." A pair of humanoid figures each wearing a long purple robe, along with a blue helmet and shoulder guard rose on the field. (1700-850/1200-600) x2

Sean: 9800-10300

"Now I'll sacrifice both of them to summon… Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin." Sean's two monsters disappeared and made way for the familiar sword and shield wielding fairy. (2300) "Furthermore, when Zolga's used in a tribute summon, I gain 2000 life-points. And since there were two, I gain 4000."

Sean: 10300-14300

"This is unreal!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"He's got almost 15000 life-points!" Chumley noted.

"I don't like the looks of this," Syrus whimpered.

"Without Sanctuary in the Sky, all those extra life-points are useless," Christine said. "He must have something else."

"Oh, before I forget, I'll discard Zeraldias in order to add a Second Sanctuary in the Sky to my hand. And you know what that means." The stone palace surrounded them once more, its presence causing Neo-Parshath to power up. (2300-15900/2000-15600)

Syrus quivered at the sight. "Aww man! That a lot of points."

"No way!" Jaden and Jeremy simultaneously exclaimed, twin looks of shock on their faces.

"He's done for!" Bastion said.

"Finish him!" the Shadow Rider ordered. "Radiant Blade Devastator." The super powered fairy raised its sword and swung it downward, creating a large arc of energy which destroyed Erik's batteryman and struck him head on, causing him to fall to his knees. "Behold… the fate of those who oppose the Shadows' will."

"I'm. Not. Done. Yet!" the brown haired said as he got to his feet.

Erik: 1

"WHAT!" Sean cried out in shock. "IMPOSSIBLE!"

"How'd he do it?" Chazz asked, surprised by this.

Erik showed everyone a card from his graveyard. It had the image of a person wandering in a graveyard with their waist down a skeleton. "When Hung of Death is in my graveyard and my life-points would be reduced to zero, once, this card stops my life-points from going any lower than one."

"That was a close call if I've ever seen one," Christine said.

"No joke," Alexis agreed in relief.

"I still get to draw one card since Sky Paladin damaged your life-points."

Sean: 14300-14800

(15900-16599/15600-16299) "Three cards face-down ends my turn."

"This is it," Zane muttered. "It's now or never."

'I swore to myself I'd set you free,' Erik thought to himself as he prepared to draw. 'And I won't back away from that promise.' "Here goes… I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Sanctuary in the Sky."

"I reveal Divine Punishment." A ray of light shot out from Sean's trap and burned away the spell before anything happened.

"Fine then. I discard one card to play Tribute to the Doomed." A horde of mummies emerged from the ground, surrounding Neo-Parshath.

"When you use a spell that targets a monster, I can use Spell Shield Type-8, to negate it." The mummies dissolved before getting close to their target.

"Third time's the charm. I activate Card of Demise."

Sean: 14800-15300

"Then I summon Batteryman C." A silvery gray battery with short, blue limbs and a spherical head of the same color materialized in front of Erik. (0) "Next I play Mining for Magical Stones, sending the top two cards of my deck to the grave, in order to get back one of my spell cards."

Sean: 15300-15800

"Now I'll play it, Monster Reborn, to bring back a second Batteryman C." A copy of the already existing batteryman appeared. (0)

Sean: 15800-16300

"Now I'll flip up DNA Surgery, changing all monsters to machine types." All three monsters suddenly covered in a gray metallic color. "With that done, I can play Mechanical Surgery, which increases my life-points by 400 for every machine I control."

Erik: 1-801

Sean: 16300-16800

"Now I play Battery Charger. Thanks to this, all I have to do is pay 500 life-points and I can summon another batteryman from the graveyard." The third Batteryman C rose amongst the two others, becoming a machine type like them. (0)

Erik: 801-301

Sean: 16800-17300

(16599-18799/16599-18499)

"Now, with batteryman C's effect, with all of them in attack mode, all my machines gain 500 points for every batteryman C I control. And that applies to each of them. So with three on the field, plus the bonus from Clockwork Night, they all gain 5000 attack points." A blast of electricity erupted amongst Erik's monsters, giving them a boost in attack points. (0-5000) x3

"They still can't hurt my Sky Paladin. Even if you combine their attack points, you still wouldn't have enough." 'And even if you did, my Magic Cylinder would wipe out the rest of your life-points.'

"They can't, but this can. It's a little spell called Short Circuit. I can only play this when I have three batteryman monsters on the field. And since I do, all the cards on your field are wiped out." The three batterymen pooled their energy and sent out a shockwave that destroyed Sean's Paladin, Aegis of Gaia, his face-down card, and his field spell. "And when Aegis of Gaia is removed from your field while face-up, you take 3000 points of damage."

Sean: 17300-14300

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the Shadow Rider cried out as he realized that defeat was staring him in the face.

"Time for you to come back, my friend. Batterymen… let's go!" Erik's three monsters joined hands and conjured a large wave of electricity which struck the possessed student and drained him of all his life-points.

Sean: 14300-0

Thus defeated, the halo around his head suddenly disappeared and his blazer changed to be like that of most Obelisk boys. The remaining holograms faded away at the same time. "Thank you," Sean uttered, before passing out then and there.

"Nice job, man," Jeremy congratulated him.

"You were great!" Jaden pitched in.

"Totally lishus!"

"Way to play!"

"Well played."

"That was good," Chazz admitted.

"Another Shadow Rider gone," Alexis muttered.

"And another student free from the Shadows," Christine added.

Zane clapped his fellow Obelisk on the shoulder. "You did it. You should be proud of yourself."

"Thanks. I'm just glad he's back."

"So, now that we've reached the halfway mark, maybe we'll be given a break for a while," Jeremy said. A few of them chuckled at this and even Erik smiled.

* * *

So, I hope you liked it, bla, bla, bla, and please review (it would be much appreciated).

**Cards made up for this duel:**

Battery Recycling  
Normal Trap  
Effect: When one of your 'Batteryman' monsters is destroyed in battle, you can end your opponent's turn.  
Image: A Batteryman AA picking up the broken pieces of another Batteryman AA and putting them in a cart.

Hung on Death  
Normal Spell  
Effect: When this card is in the graveyard, once, if your life-points would be reduced to zero, you can keep your life-points at 1.  
Image: A person wandering in a graveyard, with their lower half a skeleton.

***Very important* Hung of Death was made up by The Duelist of Dawn, not me.**

**Next chapter: **The Slifers decide to relax from all the Shadow Games that've been going on. But Jaden and Jeremy unexpectedly get coerced into a high stakes duel.


	42. Face Your Fears

Disclaimer: hkjdsfljk;sldjfk;lsadjfoi;sajdf;lshd;jdsakf;ljsdlk;.

That was alien language for: I do not own Yugioh GX! (of course not, anyone can tell it's just random s**t)

Anyway, I just did this as a break between working on chapters for another fic, so next update will still be a while. It only took me a day to do this (although I had the whole day absolutely free, the duel was already written out, and this wasn't a non-canon chapter). So, enjoy!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Face Your Fears**

Lying down on their beds in the Slifer Red dorm, two specific students were sleeping not so peacefully. For Jaden's part, he was having a dream in which he was surrounded all around by dense black fog. Opposite him, was a mysterious, indistinguishable humanoid figure, with a duel disk on its arm the same as Jaden had at the moment. Both duelists had a monster in front of them, Jaden's being Wildheart. "Party's over!" The Slifer boy declared as he drew. "And I think it's time your monster split!"

After those words were said, Wildheart leapt high into the air and came down on the enemy monster, cleaving it in two with a swing of his sword. But to Jaden's surprise, a wind started to blow, catching the creature's halves, which twisted and wove around themselves, growing until they formed an imposing dragon with shining red eyes. It opened up its mouth and spat out a blast of blue flames, tearing through Wildheart and going onward to hit Jaden, draining his life-points. "No… I lost."

"Jaden…" the Slifer in question looked back and saw Syrus, Chumley and Jeremy who were being engulfed in blue fire. "Help us, Jaden."

"Sy!, I'll be right there!" Jaden then went to move forward, but was forcibly stopped in his tracks when a black slimy substance appeared around his feet and started to suck him in. "Guys…" he called out as he futilely struggled. "I'm sorry..."

"Jaden?" The brunette boy suddenly woke up from his nightmarish sleep, taking in the sight of their dorm room. "You alright? You were moaning in your sleep."

A thump caused the two of them to look over in the direction of Jeremy's bed, the blond student having fallen off the edge and onto the floor. "Oh man," he said, rubbing his head. "That was weird."

"You okay?" Jaden asked.

"I think so," he answered hesitantly. "What about you?"

"I… don't know."

* * *

Next day, in an effort to cheer up his friends, Syrus suggested that they all go over to a corner of the island where there was a building with a wading pool inside. Jaden and Chumley changed into a pair of light blue swim trunks, Jeremy put on a similar pair, except dark green, and Syrus ended up jumping in the water with a towel and a yellow tube around his waist. "This is the life, huh guys? I mean, does it get any better than this?"

"Sure it does, Sy," Jaden answered. "Like if you hadn't jumped in with your towel." The short Slifer looked around and saw his now fairly wet towel floating in front of him.

"Aww man. This thing was dryer fresh."

"Whatever," Jeremy said. "I'm going in." He then ran to the edge and jumped in, curling up into a cannonball. "Bombs away!" His landing in the pool caused a splash, as did Jaden's who came right after, but when Chumley did the same, his impact was a little bigger, and Syrus got sprayed full in the face.

"Come on, guys," the koala duelist spoke up. "The water's really warm over by Syrus."

"Actually… That's why I'm chilling over here," Jaden responded.

"Yeah, what he said."

"So Jay, you over that nightmare yet?" Syrus asked. Jaden sighed and leaned back against a rock, at which Chumley looked at Syrus with a glare. "What? I asked because I care. Sorry Jay."

"Yeah…" Jaden mumbled, then sunk into the water.

"Nightmare?" Jeremy inquired.

"Jaden had a dream that he was dueling against someone in a shadow game and lost, and that the three of us all suffered because of it," Syrus explained.

"I see… Wait a sec. Did he mention anything about a mysterious person in black, a big dragon spewing blue fire and black sludge swallowing him up?"

Syrus stared at his friend for a moment. "Uhh, yeah. How'd you know?"

"I practically had the same dream, except that I was the one dueling."

"Hey guys," Jaden called out as he resurfaced a short away from them, holding up a wet towel. "Look what I found."

"Gimme back my towel!" Syrus demanded as he doggie paddled after his friend, who just kept swimming away.

"Yours? No way. Yours was dryer fresh. This one's a wet mess."

"You'll be messing with me if you don't give it back right now!" Syrus stopped chasing after his friend when a wave of cold water unexpectedly splashed into his face. The four Slifers looked in the direction it had come from and saw Chazz sitting on a rock close by with a bucket in hand.

"Take a chill pill, shortstack."

"Hey Chazzie," Jeremy called out. "Wazzup? Don't suppose you're here to hang out with us?"

"With you guys?" Chazz scoffed and looked away. "That's a good laugh, slacker. Like I'd ever-" he began, but was interrupted when Syrus splashed some water at him.

"There's an even better laugh." Chazz snarled angrily at this, before getting up and diving in after Syrus. Chumley looked at the pair for a moment, and jumped in after them.

"By the way," Jeremy spoke up. "You know last night?" Jaden nodded. "Well… I kind of had the exact same dream that you did, except that I was dueling instead."

"You're kidding, right?" Jaden said in disbelief.

"Nuh uh, not at all. Although it seemed kind of weird how that big dragon seemed sort of familiar."

"With what's been going on lately, it's no wonder we've been having bad dreams. After all, dueling used to just be about having fun. And now, everything's about winning. Because otherwise… we lose more than just a game."

"Yeah…" Jeremy agreed. "Half the time we risk losing our souls, our friends, our spirit keys… not to mention losing the world if those Sacred Beasts come out."

"_Coo!_"

"_Helloooo!_"

The two boys turned around and looked in the direction they'd heard their duel spirits.

"Winged Kuriboh?"

"Buddy?"

The both of them then swam over towards where their spirit partners were.

"Jaden? Jeremy?" Syrus asked, after him and Chumley had finished annoying Chazz.

"Hey, where'd they go?" Chumley wondered. He then happened to notice a transparent version of Des Koala running in the water along the edge, before swimming over to it.

"There should be a kiddie pool for those slackers," Chazz complained to as he sat on a rock by himself. "Or better yet, wet em down with a hose."

"_Yeah, I'm with you boss,_" Ojama Yellow said as he appeared next to the black haired former Obelisk student.

"You're not with me!" Chazz replied, smacking the spirit into the pool. "You got that? Now go on and get lost."

The persistent duel spirit poked its head out of the water. "Alright, fine. I've gotta get to the spirit festival anyway."

'Spirit festival?' Chazz thought to himself, wondering exactly what that was supposed to mean.

In a different area of the pool, Jaden and Jeremy were walking about, looking for their duel spirits. "Kuriboh?"

"Where did they go?" Jeremy asked out loud.

"I have no id-" Jaden was interrupted when he was suddenly pulled underneath the water and sunk deeply.

"What the-?" Jeremy exclaimed at the disappearance of his friend, before being pulled in the same way.

* * *

Jaden opened his eyes when he felt that he was no longer sinking into the water, but was rather on a solid surface. He could see that he was sitting in a cave of light blue, and was currently wearing his Slifer Red uniform, along with a duel disk on his arm and his deck at the ready. "What's going on here?" he wondered, just before Jeremy landed right next to him, also decked on in his uniform with a duel disk and his deck.

"Hi Jay," the blond boy said, after taking in their surroundings. "Any clue where we are?"

"Not a one." The two students then caught sight of something new, and noticed that there were a bunch of duel monster in the cave with them, and not mere holograms. They cried out in surprise, prompting the duel monsters to do the same. "Umm… hi," Jaden spoke up after calming down. "My name's Jaden."

"I'm Jeremy."

"Sorry to drop in… or out… or whatever happened." He then looked up at where they'd come from, seeing something dropping towards them. "Incoming!" he yelled, at which they all dived out of the way. The resulting cloud of dust dissipated, allowing them to see Chumley, Syrus and Chazz, in their usual clothes, also accompanied by Ojama Yellow and Des Koala, solid like the other duel monsters.

"What's going on?" Chazz asked.

"How are we back in our clothes?"

"Good question, Chum," Jeremy said.

"My glasses." Syrus spoke up, feeling around on the floor. "I can't see without my glasses." Des Koala reached down and held them out for him. "Thanks Chumley."

"We must be in some kind of spirit world," Chumley noted.

"Wait a sec, Chumley?" Syrus put his glasses back on, then turned around and let out a surprised cry when he saw the large koala simply sitting behind him. "Des Koala!"

"This is weird," Chazz commented. "It's as if a bunch of duel monster cards just came to life."

"I did not really expect that this was going to happen," Jeremy said.

"Who'd expect something this bizarre?" Jaden added.

"Who're you calling bizarre?" an unknown voice spoke up. The boys all looked in the direction it had come from, and saw a tall man dressed in black, also wearing a long sleeveless trenchcoat. Long red hair fell down from his head, atop which was a dragon shaped helmet.

"It's Kaibaman!" Ojama Yellow pointed out.

"What? Kaibaman?" Jaden asked. "As in, the duel monster card?"

"He must be the one who dragged us all in here," Jeremy said. "Looks like he's in charge of this place. Or is this just some Shadow Rider scheme?"

Kaibaman merely smiled in amusement at this. "You two ask a lot of questions. But you won't be getting any answers. Unless the both of you take me on in a duel right now." He held out an arm with a duel disk on, which extended so that it looked almost like a dragon's wing. In response, Jaden and Jeremy stood up and started up their own duel disks. "From the looks of you, I'd say you accept my challenge. But from what I sense… that's a different story. I sense fear… deep fear, that you'll lose and your friends will pay most dearly."

"What's he talking about?" Chumley asked.

"This is about the dreams you guys had, isn't it?" Syrus inquired.

"If you're all too scared, then I'll duel him."

Jaden and Jeremy shook their heads, both standing determined to take on their newest adversary. "Not backing down I see," Kaibaman noted. "Then you can look forward to facing this card." The humanoid duel spirit held up a single card, the art showing a majestic blue and white dragon.

"The Blue Eyes White Dragon," Jaden stated.

"Aww crap," Jeremy moaned.

"That's one powerful card," Chazz commented. "On second thought, I think I'll sit this one out instead."

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Try a nightmare," Jaden mumbled. "But still… I'm not gonna run away from this."

"And neither will I," Jeremy added.

"Alright then. For this duel, I'll have 8000 life-points, while the both of you will share the same score. That way, when one of you takes the hit, the other will feel the pain as well."

"Fine with me." Jaden looked at his partner, and they each nodded. "Alright, Kaibaman, let's give all these monsters a show."

"DUEL!" the three of them called out, picking up their starting hands.

J&J: 8000

Kaibaman: 8000

"Here goes," Jaden spoke up, drawing a sixth card. "First I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode." The water hero stood up on the brunette duelist's field, cape billowing behind him. (800/1200) "And if Bubbleman's summoned out by himself, I get two more cards out of my deck. Pretty sweet, huh? Especially since I just drew the equip spell, Bubble Blaster." The water bazooka appeared on Bubbleman's shoulder, giving him more attack points. (800-1600/1200) "And I'll call it a turn."

"My turn then," Jeremy announced. "And I'll start with Graceful Charity, drawing three cards, at the price of ditching two. Then I'll use Monster Reborn to bring back one of the cards I just got rid of. Samurai Summoner." A short old man with long white hair and wearing dark blue robes crouched down in front of the samurai duelist. He also wore a cloak with the symbol of the six samurai on the back. (500/600)

"This must be a new monster," Chumley noted.

"Why'd he go through all that trouble just to bring it out?" Chazz wondered.

"Because, since he's a Gemini monster, I can give up my normal summon to have him gain his effect." A thin white aura appeared around the small man. "Now, once per turn, I'm allowed to special summon a level four or lower warrior type monster from my hand. Like, Chamberlain of the Six Samurai." Jeremy's metal limbed warrior sat cross legged next to the other defending monster. (200/2000) "One face-down and that's it."

'Talk about dreams coming true,' Jaden thought to himself. 'Just last night I dreamt about a Blue Eyes, and he's got one. I just hope this doesn't end the same way… with my friends in deep trouble because I failed.'

'Last time I faced a Blue Eyes White Dragon I got beaten pretty bad,' Jeremy spoke in his mind. 'At least this time I've got Jaden close by to help out. Let's hope that the both of us together are enough to win against this guy.'

"Wishing you could back out now?" Kaibaman asked tauntingly. "Too late. My move," he said as he drew, looking over his cards. "I summon the Lord of Dragons in attack mode." A well built man decked in bone armor with a dragon skull as his helmet and wearing a dark blue cape with a collar rose opposite the two Slifers. (1200/1100) "Next I play the spell, Flute of Summoning Dragon." A bronze horn shaped like a dragon's head appeared in the dragonic spellcaster's hand. "This automatically allows me to summon up to two dragon type monsters I want from my hand."

"I don't think I'm gonna like this," Syrus said.

"And the ones I choose are both… The legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon. Feast your eyes, on the beast that will feast upon your soul." The already present monster raised the dragon horn to his mouth and blew. Two powerful blue and white dragons roared as they came down on Kaibaman's field. (3000/2500) x2

"On our souls?" Jaden asked.

"Not cool!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"This could be a very short duel," Chazz commented.

"Now… Lord of Dragons, Dark Dragon Orb. Blue Eyes, White Lightning." Lord of Dragons charged up an orb of dark energy in his hands and released it at Jeremy's summoner, at the same time as the two Blue Eyes each released a blast of white lightning at the other two monsters. When the field cleared, Bubbleman and Summoner were still in place, though the former was without his weapon. (1600-800/1200)

"Not so fast," Jeremy spoke up. "As long as my Summoner has his Gemini effect in place, he can also avoid destruction once per turn."

"And when Bubble Blaster's out, it takes the hit and I take no damage," Jaden added.

"Well, Jeremy and Jaden only lost one card each, but at least they didn't lose any life-points yet," Chumley pointed out.

"It's only a matter of time," Chazz said. "Bubbleman lost his point bonus and even though Jeremy's summoner can protect itself, it's still no match for Kaibaman's monsters."

"Alright then, my turn," Jaden called out. "And I'm gonna be turning two monsters into one. I play Polymerization, fusing Bubbleman and Clayman to create, Elemental Hero Mudballman in defense mode." The water and earth heroes joined together and formed the large fusion monster who kneeled down before Jaden. (1900/3000) "That's all."

"My move then." Jeremy said. "I summon Specter of the Six Samurai." The ghostly samurai materialized on the field. (1200/400) "Thanks to his effect, I can draw a card since Chamberlain's in the graveyard. And now I'll play it, Reinforcements of the army, meaning I can grab any level four or lower warrior from my deck. Like Hand of the Six Samurai. Who I'll bring out by using summoner's effect once again." One of Jeremy's feminine warriors appeared amongst her allies, a stern expression on her face. (1600/1000) "Now I'll have her attack the Lord of Dragons." Hand of the Six Samurai dashed forward and planted her dagger where his armor didn't protect him.

Kaibaman: 8000-7600

"Next up, I reveal Return of the Six Samurai to bring back Chamberlain." Jeremy's trap flipped up, from which the part metal fighter emerged. (200/2000) "And then I'll activate Hand of the Six Samurai's effect, sacrificing Chamberlain and Specter to destroy your two dragons." The female duel monster placed both hands in a prayer position in front of her face, as her two named allies faded away. She then thrust her arms forward, conjuring twin fire serpents which wrapped themselves around both dragons until they were gone. "Take that."

"No, I'll take this, the spell card Pot of Greed, so I can draw two cards from my deck. Such as, Monster Reborn, which I'll use to bring back a Blue Eyes that was just destroyed." One of the powerful dragons rose again. (3000/2500) "Now, with Blue Eyes out, I can play Burst Stream of Destruction to destroy all your monsters. Now go, obliterate them with Burst Stream of Destruction." The mighty dragon gathered a ball of crackling energy in its mouth, before firing it off at the opposing field. It exploded in a spectacular way, with only Jeremy's summoner surviving the blast.

"No!" Chumley exclaimed.

"Aww man," Syrus moaned. "Jeremy's summoner is completely defenceless. Once Blue Eyes attacks, it'll be all over for him."

"Read the fine print," Chazz said. "Blue Eyes can't attack on the turn that Burst Stream of Destruction is used."

"It won't matter," Kaibaman shot back. "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands." A human like figure with greyish skin and arms all over its body rose beside Blue Eyes, though dwarfed by it. (1400/1000) "And now he'll lend me a hand. See, when he's summoned, I can select a ritual spell or monster from my deck and place it in my hand. But it won't stay there for long, because I'm playing it. Go, White Dragon Ritual. Now I'll sacrifice Manju in order to summon Paladin of White Dragon." A smaller, pale blue dragon appeared on the field, carrying a man in white armor on its back. (1900)

"Oh great," Jeremy said sarcastically.

"Like I said, it doesn't matter that Blue Eyes can't attack, Paladin will fill in just fine. He may not be a dragon, but he's managed to tame one. And in my book, that's though. Now, Paladin of White Dragon attack. Ionic Spear Burst." The dragon riding man raised his spear and shot a beam of bluish white energy from the tip, overcoming Jeremy's persistent monster. "And I'm not done yet. By sacrificing Paladin, I can summon another monster from my hand or deck. And it's one you've already met. Care to guess which?"

"Actually, no," Jaden answered.

"Let me give you a hint then. It has blue eyes, white scales… The Blue Eyes White Dragon." Paladin of White Dragon faded away, making room a dragon identical to the one already on the field. (3000/2500)

"Another one?"

"Aww man. This is bad."

"No joke, it's bad," Chazz pitched in.

"This stinks!" Jeremy complained. "He had two dragons on the field, then they're in the graveyard, and now he's got two again!"

"One card face-down ends my turn," Kaibaman said with a smirk.

"Okay Jaden, let's see what you got… I play O-Oversoul to get Clayman back from the graveyard." The stone warrior rose from Jaden's grave, kneeling in a defensive position. (800/2000) "Then I'll summon Lady Heat in defense." The fiery heroine kneeled down beside Clayman. (1300/1000) "And at the end of my turn, she deals 200 points of damage for every elemental hero I have out." Lady Heat conjured a pair of small fireballs in each hand, then threw them at Kaibaman, although they did little to faze him.

Kaibaman: 7600-7200

"Hmm… not much to do right now," Jeremy mumbled as he looked over his hand. "I summon the Six Samurai Kamon in defense mode." The brown armored samurai appeared on the field, kneeling like Jaden's heroes. (1500/1000) "One face-down and I guess that's all."

"Is that so? Well it's not much. I play Card of Demise to draw until I have five cards." Kaibaman drew until his hand was almost full. "Next I play Monster Reincarnation, replacing Spear Dragon for another Blue Eyes in my grave. Then I summon forth myself, Kaibaman." A copy of the dragon duelist appeared between the two present dragons. (200/700)

"I'm seeing double," Syrus stated.

"And trouble," Chazz added.

"Now, by sacrificing him, I can summon yet another Blue Eyes White Dragon." Kaibaman disappeared, replaced by the third Blue Eyes. (3000/2500) "If you thought one was bad, try all three."

"Hey, Jeremy," Jaden spoke up. "You faced off against three Blue Eyes before. Got any ideas?"

"Yeah. Hope for the best, and plan for the worst."

"Now for the fun part. I reveal the trap card, Dragon's Rage. In case you didn't know, this lets all my dragons deal damage through your defending monsters. Go, Triple White Lightning!" The three powerful dragons gathered destructive energy in their mouths, then released it at the opposing monsters, blasting through them and hitting the two Slifer duelists, taking out a large chunk of their life-points.

J&J: 8000-3000

"Ow, that was bad," Jaden said.

"Ditto," Jeremy agreed.

Kaibaman merely smirked confidently. "It's your turn, Jaden."

"About time… First I'll play Graceful Charity. Then, Legacy of a Hero, so I can draw three more cards since I have more than two level four of higher heroes in my grave. Next, Flaming Barbed Wire let's me change one of your monsters to defense mode for every card in my hand, and reduces their original defense points to 0 for the rest of the turn." Kaibaman's three dragons forcibly kneeled down, losing all defense points. (3000/2500-0) x3

"Alright!" Chumley exclaimed. "Now any monster that he summons will be able to beat those Blue Eyes."

"And by the way, one of the cards I tossed out with Graceful Charity, was the Elemental Hero Necroshade. And when he's in the graveyard, I can summon a high level hero without having to make a sacrifice. And the monster I'm gonna summon is, Elemental Hero Bladedge." Jaden's powerful golden armored hero rose on the field, standing at the ready. (2600/2300) "One more, thing, I play Hero Heart. And by dividing Bladedge's attack points in half, he can attack twice." (2600-1300/2300) "Now go get em. Slice N Dice Attack." Bladedge's jet wings extended from his back and he flew forward, cutting into two of the dragons with his arm blades, causing golden light to pour out, before they exploded. Kaibaman grunted a little as his life-points dropped due to the hero's piercing effect.

Kaibaman: 7200-4600

"Next I'll throw down a face-down." The remaining dragon's defense points went back to its original value as Jaden's turn finished. (3000/2500)

"Way to go, Jayman!" Jeremy said, giving his friend a thumbs up. "For my move, I activate Card of Sanctity, so we all draw until our hands are full." The three duelists picked up cards from their decks until they each held six. "Then I reveal my trap, Double Edge Sword Technique, to bring back Kamon and Summoner." The brown armored samurai and short old man reappeared, both in defensive positions. (1500/1000) (500/600) "Next I'll have Kamon give up his attack so that he can blow up Dragon's Rage." The warrior in question grinned as he pulled out a stick of dynamite and lit it up, before throwing it at Kaibaman's trap, blowing it to pieces.

"Nice move," Chumley commented. "Now they don't have to worry about piercing damage."

"That's not all. Cause now I'm giving Summoner his Gemini effect." The elderly man suddenly regained a thin white aura. "And now with his effect, I can have Zanji come out to play." Jeremy's red/gold armored samurai rose amongst his two allies. (1800) "For the cherry on top, Allied Forces. And even though Summoner doesn't get a boost since he's a spellcaster, he still helps power up the others." (1500-2300) (1800-2600) (2600-3400) "Zanji, take out his last Blue Eyes." The newly summoned warrior ran forward and jumped high, swinging his weapon and scoring a hit across Blue Eyes' neck. "Now, at the end of my turn, after using Double Edge Sword Technique, the monsters I summoned would normally be destroyed and I'd take damage equal to their attack points. But, Summoner can protect himself, and because of Kamon's effect, I can destroy Zanji instead." The red/gold armored Japanese fighter nodded to his fire counterpart, before disappearing. (3400-3200) (2300-2100)

"Huh? I didn't know you could do that," Syrus mentioned.

"Actually I only recently realized that my trap said 'destroy' instead of sending it to the graveyard," Jeremy admitted, a sheepish expression on his face.

"Even so, they still got rid of all of Kaibaman's Blue Eyes," Chazz pointed out.

"Yeah, now those were some lishus moves."

"And to think I was worried we'd lose," Jaden said. "Well not anymore."

"Is that so?" the dragon duelist asked.

"Of course. I'm so over my fear. The trick's to take what you're scared of, and not let it happen."

"Well put, Jay. At this rate, we'll be back in no time. And we won't have to worry about a thing."

"It's not that simple," Kaibaman barged in. "Do you really think that by sending my three dragons to the grave that you've won this duel? That you've avoided that defeat you fear? I don't think so. You're a long way from winning this duel, and Blue Eyes is a long way from being beat."

"Yeah right," Jeremy shot back.

"I don't believe you," Jaden added.

"It's true, like it or not. Your fate and the fate of your friends all still hang in the balance. You have to accept that, and face it head on. This is how a true duelist lives, not afraid of defeat, but always prepared to accept it. This is the very nature of dueling. And it's high time you both learned. I play Dragon's Mirror. Thanks to this, I can perform a fusion summon using monsters on my field and in my graveyard."

"It's the same," Chazz stated.

"What's the same?" Syrus asked.

"So far, Kaibaman's deck has been the same deck as Seto Kaiba's."

"I think I've got a pretty good idea what's coming next," Jeremy muttered.

"I remove from play my three Blue Eyes from the game in order to summon forth… the all powerful, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon." Three streams of light emerged from Kaibaman's graveyard, merging together, then shedding away, revealing the three headed fusion monster. (4500) "Behold… the mightiest and most devastating dragon of them all"

"The monster from my dream," Jaden said. "It can't be."

"It can, and it is. And it gets worse. With 4500 attack points staring at you, that defeat you dreamt, will now become, a reality. Now go, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack with Neutron Blast." The dragon's three heads all started to gather destructive energy in their mouths.

"Go trap card," Jaden interrupted as his face-down flipped up. "Edge Hammer. Now, by sacrificing Bladedge, I can destroy one of your monsters and you take damage equal to its attack points." Ultimate dragon's three heads fired off their energy, which converged into one powerful shot. Bladedge started to glow, then ploughed straight through the attack. "You said I should accept defeat? Don't think so!" An explosion resulted from the impact, obscuring the students' view of Kaibaman and his field, though Kamon lost a few points with Bladedge now gone. (2100-1900)

"Alright!" Chumley cheered

"Way to play!" Syrus pitched in.

"No way!" Chazz exclaimed.

"Nice one Jaden!" Jeremy commented. "Now we're only seconds away from winning this thing."

When the smoke cleared, everyone could see Kaibaman standing still, holding up two cards, his life-points unchanged. "Victory is a lot further than you think. If you won't accept defeat, then I'll force it on you." He showed them the two cards, which he had just played.

"De-Fusion and Burial from a Different Dimension?"

"That's right. Burial from a Different Dimension returned my Blue Eyes to the grave, then De-Fusion split Ultimate Dragon into his pre fusion form." The three original dragons reappeared on Kaibaman's field. (3000/2500) x3 "And since Edge Hammer's target was no longer there, it swung and missed. Something my three Blue Eyes will not be doing." The powerful dragons each fired off a blast of power, blasting through Jeremy's two monsters, though both duelists felt the impact. "I end my turn."

"Aww man."

"Not lishus."

"This isn't good."

"Just when we step up our game, his goes even higher," Jeremy complained.

"No kidding," Jaden agreed. "We keep taking down his dragons, but he just keeps bringing them back and more dangerous than before."

"So, you two ready to give up yet?"

"Not a chance!" Jeremy said with defiance.

"You got that right! We're never giving up!"

Kaibaman smiled in amusement. "It's your move."

"Here goes something."Jaden drew, picking up his faithful duel spirit's card. "Nice to see you again. Okay… I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode." The small, furry brown monster with wings appeared on Jaden's field. (300/200) "That's all for now."

"Lemme see…" Jeremy muttered. "I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in defense as well." The elven warrior kneeled down with his sword in front of him, point down and both hands resting on the hilt. (1400-1600/1200) "And I guess that'll do."

"I'm afraid that despite your defences, you're still going to lose this turn."

"How's that gonna happen?" Chumley wondered.

"Yeah. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian can't be destroyed in battle with those Blue Eyes, and Winged Kuriboh prevents damage on the turn he's destroyed," Syrus pointed out.

"It doesn't matter, because I have the spell, Delta Attacker."

"Uhh, what does that do?" Jeremy asked.

"No idea," Jaden admitted.

"I can only play this when I control three normal monsters with the same name. And since I do, all of them can attack your life-points directly."

"They're done for!" Chazz exclaimed.

The three dragons flew up in a triangular formation, powering up their attacks. "Now go, Blue Eyes, attack with White Lightning!" Three separate blasts of energy were fired off from the dragons' mouths and hitting Jaden and Jeremy directly, kicking up a large could of dust and smoke at the same time.

J&J: 3000-0

When the two boys came to their senses, they realised that they were lying on the floor of the cave, their respective duel spirits hanging near them. "Syrus! Chumley!" They quickly looked around and spotted their friends, who were sitting amongst the other duel monster spirits.

"Oww," Jeremy mumbled, briefly clutching his chest where he'd been hardest by the attack.

Kaibaman then walked over and looked down at the two of them. "Defeat is nothing to be scared of. What matters, is if you can get up afterwards." Jaden and Jeremy did just that.

"Wait," the brunette spoke up. "Are you telling me this entire duel was to teach us that?"

"Tell me, are either of you afraid now?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm really not," Jeremy admitted.

"Yeah. Neither am I, for that matter."

"And do you know why? Because you both faced it. You lost, you're okay. And so are they."

"Jay!" Syrus called out as him and the others ran over to them.

"Syrus, Chumley, I think I'm over my bad dream," Jaden said.

"Oh yeah? Well I'm over this place," Chazz complained. "Can we please get out of this weird spirit cave? It's low rent."

"Uhh, Kaibaman?" Jeremy asked. "Can we get a little help with this?" The boys looked around, and spotted him walking away through a mist.

"If you're looking for help, just ask your two spirit friends." Kaibaman stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "After all, they're the ones who brought you down here." He then turned around and walked away, disappearing in the distance.

"_Coo!_" Winged Kuriboh spoke.

"Really?" Jaden asked. "That's all we gotta do?"

"_Yep_," Shien's Footsoldier confirmed. "_Just close your eyes, wish for it, and everything will turn out fine_."

The five boys closed their eyes, focussing on being back in the wading pool. "I really wanna go back home," Syrus said, seconds before they were all pulled out of the cave.

* * *

After re-emerging in the pool, the boys had decided that they'd had enough for the day and wanted to go back to the Slifer Dorm. "This is the first time I've left the wading pool more wound up then when I went in," Syrus noted as he, Chumley, Jaden and Jeremy were walking back across the bridge towards their dorm building. "I'm just glad that we're back in a world where Des Koala, Winged Kuriboh and Shien's Footsoldier are just cards."

"I'll tell you what I know, Kuriboh," Jaden said. "Who I owe a big fat thank you to."

"_Coo!_"

"You're the best. Thanks pal."

"_Hey! What about me?_" Shien's Footsoldier complained indignantly. "_This is all the thanks I get?_"

"Don't worry Buddy," Jeremy reassured the duel spirit riding on his shoulder. "That's just what you get for making fun of me half the time you're out." The monkey's face dropped at this. "Just kidding, and thanks for the help."

"_Ahhhh, you're welcome,_" the spirit said, before tipping his hat to them and fading away at the same time as Kuriboh.

"By the way Sy," Jaden spoke up. "I still have your towel."

"What! Give it back!"

"Sure."

_SNAP!_

"OW!"

The boys all laughed at the spectacle, glad to have left the day's challenge behind.

* * *

So, I hope you all liked it, and you'd be so kind as to leave a review, that would be much appreciated.

**Cards made up by me:**

Six Samurai Summoner  
Atk/Def: 500/600  
Attr: Water  
Type: Spellcaster  
Lv: 2  
Gemini/Effect: This card is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. While this card is face-up on the field, you can Normal Summon it again to have it be treated as an Effect Monster with this effect.  
-Once per turn, if this card would be destroyed, it is not destroyed. You can special summon a level four or lower warrior type monster from your hand once per turn.  
Image: A short old man with long white hair, wearing dark blue robes and a white cloak with the symbol of the six samurai on it.

**Next chapter: **Chazz is put on the front lines in a battle against two familiar people wanting to buy the school and tear it down. But they don't quite play fair.


	43. Power of the Weak

Disclaimer: I, don't, own, Yugioh, GX!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Power of the Weak**

It was just another ordinary day on Academy Island. The sun was high and shining, classes were out as usual for the weekend, and students were free to go about. However, not everyone was happy at the moment. Chazz was currently in his room, sitting on his bed, with a desk that had a tv and computer, a couch in another end of the room and the rest of his things in boxes. "I can't take it anymore!" he complained to himself. "The Chazz shouldn't have to like a Slifer rat! I used to be an Obelisk Blue. Jacuzzi tub, turn down service… a week of renovations and this place still isn't livable!"

"Hey boss!" Ojama Yellow spoke up as he popped out of his owner's deck, floating up to land of his shoulders. "You sound stressed. Oh yeah, just look at all that pressure building up."

"If you wanna be helpful, then get lost!" The annoying duel spirit cried loudly as he jumped off. "And, if you wanna see pressure…" Chazz caught the spirit between his two hands, causing it to disappear. "Alright, finally… some peace and quiet."

"What's up?" Chazz cried out in distress as he turned around, taking notice of Jaden and Syrus who were standing just outside of his open doorway.

"Ever heard of knocking!"

"We did, but… your door is way over there," Syrus answered, pointing off to the side. Both red coated Slifers laughed at this.

"Not funny."

"Yeah, I guess not," Jaden said. "So let's go for fun." The two of them then hopped over the couch and started jumping on Chazz's bed, much to his displeasure.

"Get off my bed!" he complained. "It's not a trampoline!"

"By the way..." Jaden began.

"… the chancellor…" Syrus continued.

"… wants to see you."

"Sheppard? What for?" Chazz asked.

"Not sure," Jaden answered. "Just something about the fate of Duel Academy."

* * *

At the same time as this was happening, Jeremy was by himself, lying down on one of the benches close to the path leading to the main entrance. He was hardly moving, beyond the rise and fall of his chest due to breathing, the reason for this being that he was asleep. His dreams currently revolved around him standing in a dojo wearing a white karate gi, while opposite him was a girl with long black hair dressed in the same way.

The picture remained like this for a moment, until both of them dashed forward and started fighting. No punch, kick, or any other move got through, then unexpectedly, the girl let herself drop, Jeremy's arm passing overhead, and tossed him over, although he was able to flip and land on his feet. With that distance between them, the girl reached behind her head, pulling off whatever restraint her hair had, allowing for it to fall freely. Strangely enough, when she whipped her head sideways, it caused her black hair to flow towards Jeremy and surround his face. "Wazza hell?" he muttered while trying to escape the mound of hair. "That's cheating. You can't use hair like that."

"Whatever are you talking about, Jeremy?" the girl replied.

"You know what I'm… talking… about…" The blond Slifer then blinked his eyes open as he woke up. Upon regaining consciousness, he took into account that a stream of long hair was falling around his face. Gently, he moved it away so that he could see clearly, at which Christine came into view.

"So, you're awake now," she noted.

"Yeah… weird dream," he said as he got up into a sitting position, his girlfriend moving next to him. "I was in a karate match against some girl, when she just whipped her head and her hair somehow surrounded my face and-" Jeremy interrupted himself upon properly taking notice of Christine, whose long pale blue hair, instead of being in its usual single braid, was rather falling down freely. "Uhh… whoa," he uttered, staring at her with his mouth open.

"I was going to ask if you thought it looked good, but I have a inkling of what the answer would be," Christine spoke up, her voice teasing.

"Yeah it looks good," Jeremy managed to say, after recovering his wits. "And so do you."

"Thanks. So… you mind brushing it for me?" she asked, holding out a hairbrush while she turned her back to him.

"Sure, no problem," he answered, gently taking her hair in his hands and starting to brush it. "By the way, do I get anything in return for this?"

"Hmm… we'll see about that depending on how good a job you do."

"Then I'll do the best possible." Jeremy continued brushing her long blue hair while humming to himself, repeating the same motion, yet taking care not to pull too hard.

"Seems to be pretty quiet around here lately," Christine commented.

"Yeah, with the Shadow Riders backing off for now, there hasn't been much beyond the usual," Jeremy replied. "Well, except for that whole thing with Kaibaman forcing me and Jaden into a duel."

"That must have been a pretty weird experience."

"You got that right. Although it still turned okay in the end. Anyway, I think I've done enough for your hair now."

"Let's see…" Christine reached back and ran her hand through her smooth and silky blue hair, before deciding that it was good enough. "Nice job," she said with a smile, then took back her brush and reached into a pocket, grabbed a white elastic and set her hair into a ponytail.

Jeremy whistled wolfishly once she was done, causing her to giggle a bit. He then happened to notice Jaden, Syrus and Chazz walk by towards the main entrance. "Hey, wonder what they're up to… Maybe we should go check it out." The Slifer boy went to get up, but was held back when Christine grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and forced him to sit down. "Huh?"

"Just hold on a minute, I haven't paid you back yet," she said seductively.

"Oh, right… so what exactly did you have in m-" Jeremy was interrupted mid-speech when Christine grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him close and kissed him quite passionately, something he gladly returned once his brain decided to kick in. "Uhh… that was… wow."

"Aren't you the articulate one?" she replied with a teasing smile and a bit of a blush on her cheeks. "Come on, now we can go check things out."

* * *

The couple caught up with their friends inside the school a short moment later. A few words explained to them what they were doing, so they all continued onwards to Chancellor Sheppard's office. Upon arriving there, they walked in, seeing Sheppard at his desk, while Banner was sitting on a couch against the wall with Pharaoh on his lap. "Hello Chazz," the Chancellor spoke up. "I have some urgent news for you."

"Finally," the black coat Slifer said. "My new bed arrived?"

"This isn't about your living arrangements," Banner answered.

"Yeah? Then what is it?"

"Well…"Sheppard spoke up again, looking a little gloomy. "It seems that… someone is trying to… buy out Duel Academy. And this someone plans to get rid of all the teachers and students here, and shut this place down forever."

"WHAT!" the five students exclaimed in surprise.

"No way!" Christine said. "My father would never sell Duel Academy just like that!"

"Why'd they want to do something like this anyway?" Jaden asked.

"Without us, they can control the entire dueling world," was the answer.

"Okay… that sounds eerily familiar," Jeremy commented.

"Fortunately, our owner has given us a sporting chance."

* * *

(Flashback)

"You heard me right," Seto Kaiba said as he stood in his office, with his back to the two men in suits who wanted to buy out Duel Academy. "It's not about the money, it's about the cards. I will only consider selling you my academy under the condition that you prove your worth as a duelist, and beat one of my students in battle."

(Flashback end)

* * *

"It comes down to one duel," Banner stated.

"Let me have a go at im," Jeremy said.

"Let me, I'll whoop this guy!" Jaden pitched in.

"No, neither of you will be competing," Sheppard informed them. "The duelist has already been chosen."

"Huh? Then who's it going to be?" Syrus wondered. In response, the Chancellor looked to the black coat Slifer. "So… it's Chazz?"

"For some reason, they asked for him specifically," Banner added as he got up and walked over to a tv screen on the wall with Duel Academy's logo. "I believe this is them now." He then pressed a button on the controls below, and they were all surprised to see the faces of Slade and Jagger come up on screen.

"It's Chazz brothers?" Syrus piped up.

"That figures," Jaden muttered.

"Somehow this doesn't surprise me," Christine added.

"Lousy scrubs!" Chazz spat out. "What're you up to?"

"Come on Chazz, don't you know?" Slade asked. "Jagger?"

"Same thing."

"Complete world domination," they both said.

"Remember?" Jagger continued. "It was our little family project."

"Your project, not mine!" the younger Princeton replied.

"Yeah, well now it pretty much has to be, huh Chazz?" Slade spoke up again.

"That's right," Jagger agreed. "Because you couldn't pull your weight. You couldn't conquer the world of duel monsters like we'd planned. So now, Slade is just gonna have to do it for you."

"So I'm dueling Slade?"

"You'll take im easy," Syrus said.

"Totally," Jaden added. "I mean, Slade's just an amateur." Christine frowned, unconvinced by all this. "You guys had better rethink your business strategy, cause this one stinks!"

"For you maybe," Slade shot back. "There are a few conditions to this duel. First, I get to use all these rare cards." He showed them a briefcase containing a bunch of cards. "The same rare cards we gave Chazz to use in the school duel, of course, he refused to use them, and he lost. And one more thing Chazz… during out duel, your deck is only allowed to have monsters with less than 500 attack points."

"What the-?"

"Five hundred!" Syrus exclaimed.

"This has got to be some kind of joke!" Jeremy protested.

"I'm afraid not," Slade replied. "Seto Kaiba's already accepted our conditions."

"This isn't fair!" Jaden exclaimed, looking to Sheppard, who hardly seemed happy at this idea.

"No it's not," Jagger pitched in. "But that's the whole point." Both elder Princeton brothers laughed maniacally, until the transmission was cut and their faces disappeared from the screen.

"Guess we should go pack up," Chazz said as he started to walk out.

"Come on Chazz," Syrus piped up. "You can win this."

"Well you're wrong! There's no way I can win. Duel Academy is as good as gone."

* * *

By some odd twist of fate, shortly after, news of what had happened inside Chancellor Sheppard's office was already running around like wildfire. Bits and dribbles of students talking amongst themselves reached Chazz's ears as he was walking along.

"This is terrible!"

"This whole mess is totally Chazz's fault."

"I heard he's already accepted defeat."

"He probably wants his brothers to win."

"We should've never let him back here."

"You know what I think?" Jaden spoke up, at which Chazz stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at the Slifer in question. "I think you're all dead wrong. I know Chazz can win this duel, because I've dueled him myself. And duelists don't come much tougher than him!"

"Yeah…" Jeremy agreed.

"What he said," Syrus added.

"I know, and that's exactly the problem," the black coat boy replied.

"Honestly Chazz, you're not making any sense," Bastion commented as he, Christine and Alexis came up to him.

"Bastion's right," the blond Obelisk said. "Being tough is usually a good thing."

"In my book at least."

"Look, it's…"

"It's about Chazz being too tough," Zane explained as he joined them all, accompanied by Erik. "Specifically his deck. It's about Chazz not even being able to duel."

"I don't get it," Syrus piped up. "Wadda you mean?"

"Do you know anyone who doesn't have a monster with at least 500 attack points?" Erik pitched in. None of them answered his question. "Didn't think so."

"My cards are all too powerful," Chazz explained further. "Because of that condition my brothers set up, my deck is as good as useless. The only monster I've got left is him." He pulled out his Ojama Yellow card, at which most of the people who saw it showed surprise in one way or another.

"What?" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Just him?" Syrus asked.

"This doesn't look good," Christine commented.

"You can't make a deck with only one card," Jaden pointed out.

"He may not need to." The little group turned to face the direction that Banner's voice had come from, seeing the professor who was sitting on the stairs, holding Pharaoh in his lap as he stroked his back. "Well… it's only a rumor, but, given the circumstances, it may be worth investigating. Now, deep in the woods, there is supposed to be a very old well. And within this well lie a great number of cards that were thrown away because their owners believed them too weak to ever use in their decks. Of course, the spirits of all those monsters are quite angry at being left behind."

"Oh yeah? Well the Chazz has a feeling that they're gonna be perking up real soon. Cause I'm gonna find that well and enlist some new monsters for my deck."

"You're the man, Chazz!" one of the students cheered.

"Alright!"

"You go Chazz!"

* * *

A short while later, and Chazz was walking down a dirt path in the forest by himself, or so he thought. "Hangin' out with the crew in the schoolyard, findin' trouble never lookin too hard," Jaden was singing as he and Jeremy were walking behind.

"You guys don't have to follow me everywhere!" Chazz snapped.

"Yeah, but what if you get jumped by angry duel spirits?" Jeremy asked, talking in a spooked out voice. "And besides, everyone's counting on you."

"You heard what Banner said, it's probably just a rumor anyw-" Chazz was interrupted when a half dozen pearly white creatures appeared in mid air, floating around them while moaning loudly. "… or not."

"They sure look angry," Jaden commented.

"Please, it's not like they can harm us in anyway," Chazz scoffed. Three of the ghosts floated downward and passed straight through one of the boys each, although they felt nothing beyond a tiny little tingling sensation.

"That was… weird," Jeremy noted.

"Course not," Chazz said. "Remember, these are weak spirits. Kind of like the annoying roommate I've got crashing in my deck." They all continued walking and ended up at a clearing where they found the remains of an old well.

"There's the well," Jaden pointed out.

"What tipped you off?" Chazz asked sarcastically. "The big hole in the ground?" He then pulled out a rope ladder from his backpack, and after tying it to a nearby tree trunk, let the end drop down into the well. The three boys climbed down in a short moment, coming upon numerous cards simply lying on the dark floor.

"Wow, check out all these cards," Jaden said.

"Hard to believe that people would just throw away so many," Jeremy added.

Chazz knelt down like them to examine the cards. "It's just like Banner said.

A pair of duel monster spirits suddenly appeared out of their respective cards. Both were rather short and wearing bikini briefs, but one appeared to be somewhat muscular, had green skin, a single eye in the middle of his forehead and a longue tongue. The other was a bit chubbier, with black skin, pointed teeth and an abnormally large nose with dominated most of its face. "_In case you knuckleheads didn't notice,"_ the black one began. "_This here's private property."_

"_Yeah,_" his green companion agreed. "_Numbskulls like you ditched us here, so we don't wantcha hanging around!_"

"These two… are a few cards short of a deck," Chazz noted.

"_Hey! Who you calling short, chowdahead?_" the black spirit demanded.

"Listen… We didn't leave you here, but someone did, cause you're weak."

"_It's true!_"

"_We're weak!_" The two spirits suddenly grabbed each other and started to cry out loudly, to the point that the Slifers clamped their hands over their ears in an effort to drown out the noise.

"Oh man…" Jeremy complained. "This isn't exactly going the way I'd imagined."

"Give it a rest!" Chazz cried out. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"I'm sorry too!" Jaden added.

"_Nobody wants us!_"

"_Waaaaah!_"

"_What's the racket?_" Ojama Yellow asked as he came out to join them all.

"_Is that…?_"

"_Yeah!_"

"_Black? Green?_" Chazz's spirit wondered as he saw the two others. "_Is that you?_"

"_Our lost brother, Ojama Yellow!_"

"M_y brothers!_" Yellow cried out with glee as he jumped off Chazz's shoulder and leaped into their arms.

"What a family reunion," Jaden commented.

"Yeah, maybe a dysfunctional one. I'm going," Chazz muttered as he got up and turned around.

"But why?" Jeremy inquired.

"_Boss isn't a fan of duel spirits,_" Yellow explained to his brothers. "_He might decide to leave the two of you here._"

"_Leave us?_" Black asked in surprise. "_Who does he think he is? Look at me when I'm talking to you!_"

"_I'd do what he says,_" Green spoke up. "_He can get pretty violent._"

"_You're taking us!_" they both said.

"_And us too!_" a bunch of other duel spirits said as they converged together. "_Don't forget us!_"

"Looks like you've got a bunch of monsters ready to join you," Jeremy noted.

"What're you gonna do now, Chazz?" Jaden asked.

"Well… I guess it can't hurt… fine, whoever wants to can come with me." All the duel spirits cheered at this. "But there's one condition!"

"L_otsa hugs?_" Yellow guessed. Chazz batted aside the annoying spirit, only to have his two brother jump at him.

"_Hugs commin up, Chazz,_" they both said.

"_Freedom!_" all the spirits shouted. "_Freedom, FREEDOM!_"

* * *

The following day, all of Duel Academy's students and faculty members were seated in the Obelisk arena. On one end, Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, Christine, Alexis, Zane and Erik were all sitting together. **"Ladies and gentlemen," **a voice came through the speakers as Chazz and his brother Slade stood face to face on the platform in the middle. **"This match will determine the fate of Duel Academy! Slade Princeton vs Chazz Princeton! Now, are you ready to duel?"**

"If you wanna back out, tell me now," Slade said to Chazz.

"Does this answer your question?" the younger brother asked as he held out his duel disk.

"Bring it!" The two of them then started up their disks and drew their starting hands.

"Duel!"

Chazz: 4000

Slade: 4000

"It's go time," Chazz declared as he drew his sixth card. "Now check this out. I summon Soul Tiger in defense mode." A vicious looking tiger with elongated blue fur and dark blue stripes crouched down before the academy duelist. (0/2100)

"With that attack point handicap Chazz has on him, I bet we'll be hearing that a lot," Alexis commented.

"Hey, with defense points like those, that might just be a good thing," Jaden noted.

"You're up, bro," Chazz pointed out.

"Thank you. And I'll activate Polymerization, to fuse Lord of Dragons with Divine Dragon Ragnarock."

"This can't be good," Syrus piped up.

"With these, I can summon King Dragun." Both the light colored serpentine dragon and armored dragon lord disappeared into Polymerization's vortex. What came out was a larger version of the armored man, with a dragon shaped horn in one hand, except that from his chest down, his body was that of a shiny dragon with a long tail. (2400/1100) "And check out his special ability. Once per turn, I get to summon any dragon type monster from my hand. Like this one for example. Luster Dragon #2!" An imposing emerald green dragon appeared next to Dragun. This one with two hind legs and smaller arms, a whip like tail, snakelike neck and wide wings. (2400/1400)

"Two monsters with 2400 attack points?" Jeremy pointed out.

"Not only that, but he also has Lord of Dragons' ability," Zane pointed out. "So no dragons on the same field can be targeted by any effects."

"Not lishus!"

Chazz merely acted as if he were unimpressed."Big whoop."

"I think you mean 'big whooping'," Slade said. "King Dragun attack Soul Tiger with Fire Scourge." The half human monster pointed his dragon horn at Chazz's field, from which came a stream of flames that destroyed Soul Tiger. "And now, Luster Dragon #2, hit im with Emerald Flame Attack!" The named dragon reared back its head and spat out a blast of green fire, striking Chazz directly, causing the onlookers to cringe a little.

Chazz: 4000-1600

"That had to hurt," Erik commented.

"So much for all those defense points," Bastion said.

"My turn," Chazz announced. "I'll throw a monster face-down." The image of the back of a card appeared in front of Chazz. "That's all."

The older Princeton brother smirked as he drew. "This'll be easier than I thought. First, I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode." A smaller, blue dragon, with strong arms and legs, pointed teeth and an elongated head appeared on the field. (1900/1600) "And Dragun's ability summons Hyozanru." The diamond scaled dragon rose in the middle of its allies. (2100/2800)

"Four monsters?" Chazz noted.

"Congratulations, you can add. But tell me little brother… how's your subtraction? Give Chazz a lesson, Dragun. Take out his last monster." Obeying the command, Dragun shot out a stream of fire from his dragon horn, revealing and taking out a poor looking young girl. To Slade's surprise, a swarm of tiny cloaked and masked creatures floated from the explosion's smoke, latching onto all his monsters. "What are these things?"

"It's multiplication. When Unhappy Maiden is sent to the grave, hundreds of her little friends drop in and instantly end your turn."

"So you last a bit longer, it doesn't change a thing."

"Wanna bet?" Chazz said as the little creatures disappeared and he drew from his deck. "I call forth… Spirit of the Breeze, in defense mode." A green skinned fairy girl with long blue hair and wearing a yellow dress kneeled down on the field. (0/1800) "And I'll activate a spell card, The Dark Door. And as long as this door is open for business, we can only attack with one monster each round."

"Nice try, bro. But it's just a matter of time before I bust that door down. And now… King Dragun attack! Fire Scourge!" The humanoid dragon shot out another blast of fire that took out the fairy girl.

"My turn," Chazz said while drawing. "I play, Catnipped Kitty." An almost human sized cat with purple fur, a red underbelly and a bell hanging from its collar crouched down in front of the Slifer duelist. (0/500)

"A cat?" Slade asked, incredulously.

"You can do better?"

"You're about to find out." The older Princeton smirked as he looked at the card he'd just picked up. "Perfect. With this little card, your school is as good as mine. But hey, first things first. Dragun, declaw that kitty." The purple cat cried out as it was promptly destroyed by fire. "Then I'll lay this card face-down and end my turn."

"A face-down card?" Alexis noted.

"And my gut tells me he's planning to destroy Chazz's door with it," Zane said.

"He must be, considering that's the only other non-monster card he's played yet," Christine pointed out.

"My draw!"

"Yeah, that's right. And because it is, I can activate my trap, Dust Tornado. And you know what's in its way?"

"I've got an inkling," Jaden muttered.

"Chazz's Dark Door," Erik noted.

A tornado then came into existence on the field, blowing away Chazz's spell card, at which most of the students and teachers gasped in surprise. "Aww man, his only defense is gone!" Syrus moaned.

"And next turn Slade will be free to attack with all his monsters," Bastion pointed out.

"Well, bro," Jagger spoke up to the older Princeton. "I'd say the school is ours."

"Prepare the wrecking balls."

"I'm not done yet, bro!" Chazz shot back as he drew. "I play Painful Choice. I know you're a little slow, so I'll use small words. I pick five cards from my deck, then you choose one of them that I can add to my hand, while the rest goes to the graveyard." The images of four monsters and one magic card appeared above Chazz. "What're you waiting for? Go ahead and pick one."

"How scary," Slade spoke in a mocking tone. "Five weak cards from one weak deck. Whatever will I do? I'll pick the one card that's not a monster, Thunder Crash."

"Thank you," Chazz said as he kept the named card and put the rest in his grave. "I was hoping you'd pick that one."

"You were?"

"But more about that later. Now I play Enchanting Fitting Room. I pay 800 life-points, and get to look at the top four cards of my deck. And if any of them are level 3 or lower normal monsters, I can summon them." A curtain appeared in mid-air, then opened up, from which came four cards, one being Pot of Greed, and the others being Ojama Black, Green and Yellow. "Obviously Pot of Greed is no monster, but the three Ojama Brothers sure are." The images of the cards and curtain faded away, to be replaced by the three bikini clad monsters all standing as tall as they could. (0/1000)

"You have got to be kidding me. Don't tell me that you, pin the hopes, of saving your little academy on those three twerps?"

"That's right. And you're about to see why. Sure, they look funny, smell real bad, nobody even likes them, and they never shut up! But these guys taught me one very important thing."

"_You should eat dessert first?_" Green guessed.

"_Flies taste great?_" Black said after.

"_That bathing is optional?_" Yellow followed up.

"They taught me, that good bros support each other!"

"So I'm not a good bro?"

"Well duh!" Erik spat out.

"That's right. Which is why I don't feel bad about doing this… I play a spell card. Now do your thing," he said to the Ojamas.

"_Righto, Boss!_" they said back, then jumped into the air and called out their names.

"_Yellow!_"

"_Black!_"

"_Green!_"

"_Combine! Ojama Delta Hurricane!_" The three of the put their rear ends together and started spinning faster and faster until they became an indistinguishable blur. The mobile ring their formed flew up and settled itself around Slade's monsters, at which they suddenly exploded.

"What happened? They're all gone?"

"Thanks to a little thing called 'brotherly love'. Here's how it works, Slade. When Ojama Black, Yellow and Green are on the field, Delta Hurricane can destroy all your monsters."

"_Look who's weak now!_" the Ojamas boasted. "_Time to take him out!_"

"Oh yeah, and with this, Thunder Crash."

"_Guys, what's Thunder Crash do?_" Yellow asked as the three looked at the card's holographic image.

"_Don't ask me,_" Green replied. "_I left my reading monocle in the well._"

Black then leaned forward to get a good look. "_Seems like Chazz deals 300 points of damage for every monster on his field that he decides to destroy._"

"_Did he say destroy?_" Green and Yellow asked. Black then nodded in confirmation, before all three of them jumped in the air and grabbed each other.

"_No boss! Say it ain't so!_"

"Sorry guys, have to. See you around. Now go, Thunder Crash." The three Ojamas disappeared in a flash of energy, which was absorbed by Chazz's spell card, then shot out towards the other side of the field, striking Slade directly.

Slade: 4000-3100

"That doesn't mean a thing, got that! You're deck's still full of weaklings, and mine's still full of rare monsters just waiting to tear you apart!"

"Too bad they won't have a chance to try, thanks to all the cards in my graveyard. Cause I play, Chaos Necromancer." A red skinned human like figure appeared, with long black hair, pointy ears and a deformed nose. He was dressed in a purple outfit, with a large blue shoulder guard, pointy gold gloves, and a tattered red cape. (0/0) "Sure, he starts out weak, but he gains 300 attack points for every monster in my grave."

"Each one!" Sheppard exclaimed in surprise.

"So with eleven monsters in my graveyard, his attack points are 3300. How's that for weak?" Spectral images of Chazz's destroyed monsters appeared around the necromancer, which he then absorbed as a ball of green mist sitting in his hands. (0-3300/0)

"NO! Hold on!" Slade protested.

"Now, Chaos Necromancer, attack with Curtain Call Catapult!" Chazz standing monster then flung his hands forward, sending the images of the past monsters at Slade, depleting the rest of his life-points.

Slade: 3100-0

"Chazz did it!" Syrus exclaimed.

"Way to go!" Chumley added.

"Wicked duel!" Jeremy said.

"He saved the school! Jaden pitched in.

"Wait!" Chazz spoke up, interrupting everyone's cheering. "You know the cheer. Chazz… it… up! Chazz it up!"

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!"

"Imbecile!" Jagger berated his brother as he walked off the stage. "How could you lose this!"

"Relax, it's only one duel."

"One duel! Just listen to them. This 'one duel', has turned Chazz into a hero… and a major headache for us."

* * *

Over in Domino City, Seto Kaiba was standing in his office, looking out the window, when a man in a suit walked in to inform him of Chazz's victory. "Of course he won. Did you really think I really would've sold Duel Academy to those two? They have a lot to learn about world domination."

"Yes sir," the man replied as he bowed his way out.

A moment later, a ringing came up, at which he pulled out a cell phone from a shirt pocket. "Hello Christine."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I had a feeling you'd call."

"Yeah… about this whole thing with Jagger and Slade Princeton…"

"Don't worry," he spoke in a reassuring tone. "I let them go through with their idea because I knew they weren't going to win. And anyway, I only said that I'd consider selling Duel Academy."

"Hmm… I guess I can't hold it against you when you say it like that."

"If it makes you feel better, I won't say anything about you going out with Wheeler's kid."

"W-what? How'd you know about that?"

"Your mother said that she suspected there might be something going on between you two. And besides, your response just confirmed it," he said in a smug tone.

"You… mom… grr… I didn't even start going out with him until long after she came to visit."

"Just try to behave, you two."

"DAAAAD!"

* * *

The night following his duel, Chazz was simply lying down on his bed, attempting to relax somewhat. However, this was largely put off by the numerous duel spirits floating about his room and making noise. After enduring this for some time, Chazz finally snapped. "WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP AND BE QUIET! I didn't sign up for this!"

"_Aww, come on, boss,_" Yellow said as he floated up to him. "_They all just want to be your friends. Now let's go get some pizza. I call extra anchovies!_"

"I don't want anchovies!" Chazz yelled. "Or any friends, or roommates, or pets, or spirits, or... whatever you are!"

"_You can just call us family, boss._"

'I never should've brought them out of the well,' Chazz despaired as he lied face-down with a pillow over his head to attempt to drown out the noise.

* * *

So... Hope you liked it and all that, please review.

**Next chapter: A transfer student joins the Ra dorm.**


	44. Lady of White Magic

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yugioh GX!

This chapter will introduce a new OC, belonging to ThunderousViktory.

Enjoy!

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack**  
**

**Lady of White Magic**

The morning sun was shining high and bright over Academy Island, making the water sparkle and the grass warm. A mere two days had gone by since Chazz had defeated Slade in a duel and thwarted his brothers' plan, saving Duel Academy from their power hungry hands. Over at the Slifer Red dorm, the students, including Chazz, were all gathered in the cafeteria for breakfast. Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley were sitting together at one of the tables, talking about whatever came to mind, which included duel monsters. About halfway through their meal, Professor Banner walked in and cleared his throat.

"If you could all quiet down and listen for a moment, please?" The clamor died down as they all stopped and paid attention to their headmaster. "Good. Now… just so you all know, a new transfer student will be arriving here later in the day, sometime after classes. And as is usual for transfer students, she will be starting out at Slifer Red."

"Lemme guess," Jeremy jumped in. "Her marks are so good that she's going to move up to Ra Yellow a few days after coming over here?"

"There is a duel involved in deciding whether gifted transfer students move to Ra Yellow or not, but your answer is otherwise correct," Banner replied.

"… oh."

"Where's she going to stay?" Chazz inquired in an uncaring voice.

"Actually, I was thinking that we could move another bed into your room for her to sleep on." Chazz suddenly spat out the orange juice he'd been drinking as Banner spoke. "I'm sure it wouldn't be too much to ask of a gentleman like you. Well, any other questions?" No one answered, which Banner took as a no. "Good. Now just remember to help her feel welcome for the time she's here. Also, I hope you're ready, because today's classes will begin soon." That said, the Slifer headmaster walked out of the cafeteria, leaving his students to talk amongst themselves.

"A new transfer student…" Syrus muttered. "Wonder what she'll be like."

"She must be a pretty good duelist," Chumley pitched it.

"Yeah, sounds like she'd be a good opponent," Jeremy said with an eager smile.

"Wouldn't mind seeing for myself how good she is," Jaden added, eagerness present on his face as well. "Hey, where's everyone going?" he wondered upon noticing that people were getting up and heading out.

"Probably getting ready for classes, like Banner suggested," Syrus pointed out.

"Weren't you listening at all?" Jeremy asked.

"Hey, I listen sometimes," Jaden replied. "And it's not like you're perfect in that either."

"Ahh, shut up Jaden," the blond boy shot back in a playful tone.

* * *

Later in the day, Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus were walking in the hall after just having finished with one of their classes. "Did either of you get anything of what that guy said?" the diminutive Slifer asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Jeremy asked with an incredulous expression on his face. "I uselessly tried to concentrate for the first ten minutes and was asleep for the rest."

"I think I probably fell asleep five minutes in," Jaden admitted.

"Yeah, that's not surprising," Syrus admitted. "I stayed up the whole time, but I can hardly remember a word of what he said."

"Falling asleep in class? What else is new?" The three boys turned around and saw Alexis and Christine walk over to them, the latter with her hair still arranged in a ponytail.

"Well it's not our fault," Jaden replied. "The teacher's voice was just too boring. He could probably put a hyperactive kid to sleep in a few minutes."

"Yeah, you'd probably find more excitement in a graveyard," Jeremy added. "I can hardly believe I stayed awake that long."

"Tough luck," Christine said with a slightly mocking smile.

"So… what else is going on?" Alexis inquired.

"Well… we're supposed to get a new transfer student sometime after classes," Syrus informed them. "Apparently she's good enough to be in Ra Yellow, but she has to win a duel before changing dorms."

"Interesting," Christine commented. "By the way, do you know what we're doing in gym today?" The guys shrugged their shoulders in response. "Dancing," she answered with a bit of a smile. Jaden, Syrus and Jeremy looked at the blue haired girl, then each other, and then burst out laughing.

"She's not joking, you know," Alexis spoke up, instantly and completely killing off their laughter.

"Come again?" Jeremy asked.

"Seriously?" Syrus added.

"You're really not joking?" Jaden pleaded.

"Not at all." Christine confirmed, grinning at their horrorstruck expressions.

"Come on now, it's not that bad," Alexis said.

"But… but… but…" the three guys protested.

* * *

A short moment later, they all arrived at the gymnasium, were the rest of their classmates were currently waiting. Just after their having walked in, Ms Fontaine joined the gathered crowd, accompanied by an older Obelisk boy. Hoping against hope that what the girls had said earlier was truly a joke turned out to be useless, since when their teacher spoke up to tell them what they'd be doing, she merely confirmed their words. All of the male students suddenly developed mixed expressions of horror, embarrassment and nervousness at the idea of dancing, while the girls seemed to be quite a bit more accepting of the idea.

Ms Fontaine then went about dividing them into pairs, with most existing couples being together. Jeremy ended up with Christine, Syrus was with a girl about six inches taller than him, and Jaden was somehow paired off with Alexis. Their teacher and her partner demonstrated a few simple steps to begin with, then watched as the others attempted to imitate them. Although some were successful in pulling it off smoothly, many muffled curses, accompanied by bouts of awkward clumsiness and trod on toes indicated exactly how well most were doing.

Things dragged on like this for some time, with the two instructors managing to work out some mishaps, until the bell came to their rescue, dismissing everyone from their final class of the day. "Woo hoo!" Jeremy cheered once they were out. "Glad that's finally over."

"Oh really?" Christine spoke up in a bit of a dangerous tone. "Are you saying that dancing with me was really that unpleasant?"

Jeremy gulped nervously as his face dropped. "Umm… I didn't mean it like that."

"Is that so, Jeremy Wheeler? Then what exactly did you mean by saying you were glad that it was over?"

"Umm… well… it's not you or anything, it's just… dancing, and me… kind of… not really compatible?" Jaden, Syrus and Alexis laughed at the blond Slifer's predicament. "A little help here?"

"Sorry bud," Jaden said. "I'm afraid I can't help you out with this one."

"I've got somewhere else to go," Syrus muttered.

"Yeah, me too," Alexis added, before the three of them rushed off, leaving Jeremy alone to face his girlfriend who had a smug look on her face.

'How'd I get myself into this?' he thought to himself.

* * *

After abandoning their friend to his fate, Alexis decided to go look for Jasmine and Mindy, while Syrus and Jaden chose to go to the card shop. The two Slifers waved goodbye to the blond girl and walked through the hallway for a bit, and arrived at their intended destination shortly. There they found a small group of students simply looking around, one of whom was Erik. "Hey, Erik!" Jaden greeted the Obelisk boy. "How's it going?"

"I'm fine," he said in return. "You?"

"We're all good."

"Not sure Jeremy would say the same," Syrus added.

"Why's that?"

"Well… for some reason, in gym class, Ms Fontaine had us all try to learn dancing. Jeremy was paired with Christine, and when we were done, he made the mistake of saying that he was glad it was over. Of course, we didn't stick around to see the rest."

Erik chuckled lightly upon hearing this. "So… what're you doing here?" Jaden inquired. In response, he pointed his thumb to a poster on the wall that showed a humanoid figure, decked in white and red armor, with a dragon like head, talons at its feet and blue knuckles.

The poster read '**Mavericks, a brand new series of machines.**'

"Hey, isn't that one of the bosses in Megaman X4?"

"Yeah, Magma Dragoon," Erik answered. "They're making a bunch of new machine monsters based on mavericks in the Megaman X series."

"I've played those games too," Syrus noted. "So, I guess you're looking to add a few to your deck, huh?"

"Pretty much."

"Sounds like it'll be something pretty cool," Jaden added.

* * *

Later on in the afternoon, as Jaden and Syrus were heading back to the Slifer dorm, they met up with Jeremy again. "So… how'd it go?" the brunette boy asked. Jeremy glared at his friend as he muttered incoherent words under his breath. "That bad, huh? Well… sorry to hear that," he said with a goofy grin on his face.

"Shut up Jaden."

"Shutting up now."

The three boys continued walking in relative silence, until they finally got to the Slifer dorm. After arriving there, they made their way to their own room, where they found Chumley napping on his bunk. "So… you guys wanna do anything?" Jeremy asked, his previous animosity already forgotten.

"I think I'd rather just chill until dinner time," Jaden replied.

"Yeah, me too," Syrus added.

"Cool… Hey Jay, wanna play Super Ninja Fighters 2 again?"

"Sure, if you want to lose that badly."

"You wish." The two then each grabbed their game players, inserted the cartridges, hooked them up and turned them on. As usual, Jeremy picked a black suited ninja, while Jaden's character was a man dressed in a karate outfit, and the setting was a temple's ruin. The first round ended shortly when Jaden's avatar knocked out Jeremy's with a barrage of punches, after catching its sword bare handed.

"Round one goes to me," Jaden declared.

"Rematch!" Jeremy demanded.

"You got it. Just a second though." Jaden pulled up a menu that appeared on his screen only, then pressed a few buttons and resumed the game again. The second round went on for a while longer, with Jeremy choosing to play it safe for the most part. However, he ended up losing anyway, due to the karate man smashing his fist on the wall, causing a series of cracks to appear, which went up to the ceiling and dropped a piece of it on the ninja's head. He then uprooted a pillar and brought it down on his opponent, crushing him flat, causing the letters 'KO' to appear in red on screen. "And that's round two."

"How'd you get that kind of upgrade?" Jeremy asked.

"Hmm… nah, I don't think I'll tell you. It's my secret weapon."

"Oh really? Well you're not the only one who can do something like that." The blond Slifer pulled up a menu on his screen, and mumbled as he pushed a few buttons for a minute, then declared that he was finished and ready for the next round. As they began, both avatars immediately ran forward, Jeremy's with its sword drawn and Jaden's with both arms raised. Jaden's character brought down its fists when it got close, smashing into the stone floor and making a crater, but completely missing his target.

"Wha-?"

"Like I said, you're not the only one who can do something like that," Jeremy reminded him, after which the karate man fell apart when his opponent sliced him into pieces from behind. "BAAM! I WIN!"

The sound of someone knocking at the door suddenly came up, at which they set their game aside and Jaden went to see who it was. Standing just outside of their room, was a girl with pale skin, a scar on her left cheek and deep blue eyes who appeared to be about his age, or a little older. Her hair was a baby blue color, with jade highlights, and was set in two braids that reached her knees. Other than that, she was wearing a brown headband around her forehead, sturdy moccasins of the same color and a simple Native American style dress, along with a typical Slifer Red jacket over top.

"Hi there. You must be the new transfer student."

"That's me alright."

"Cool. I'm Jaden, and these are my friends, Syrus, Jeremy, and the one sleeping is Chumley," he said as he introduced them all.

"Nice meeting you," Syrus piped up.

"Same here," Jeremy added. "So what's your name?"

"Hmm... How about this? I'll tell you my name if one of you three agrees to take me on in a duel right now."

Jaden and Jeremy looked at each other for a second, before shrugging their shoulders. "Works for me," they said.

"Do you guys mind if I duel her?" Syrus asked, causing his friends to look at him with questioning expressions. "What? It's been a while since I've had a good duel."

"Sure thing, Sy," Jaden said.

"You go ahead with that and we'll watch," Jeremy added.

Syrus picked up his deck and duel disk, and then the group of four made their way out of the room until they were in front of the Slifer dorm. The two duelists stood face to face, while Jaden and Jeremy sat on the ground to the side. The girl then pulled a duel disk out of her back pack, strapped it on her arm and inserted her deck. "Ready?" she asked.

"You bet," Syrus replied with a certain confidence as he put on his disk and inserted his own deck.

"Let's duel!" The two of them then turned on their disks and drew their starting hands.

Syrus: 4000

New Girl: 4000

"You can go first," the Slifer girl said.

"Don't mind if I do," Syrus replied as he drew his sixth card. "I summon Strikeroid in attack mode." A cartoonish fighter jet with eyes at the tip and armed with rockets under its wings appeared floating in mid-air. (1600-400) "Then I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Here I come," the female student declared upon drawing her card. "And I summon Sage of Silence in attack mode." A woman with long silver hair, wearing light pink robes and a roundish hat of the same color appeared opposite Syrus' machine. She also had a white cloak and held a wooden staff in one hand with a golden handle holding a large purple gemstone in its grip. (1400/1000) "Then I'll boost her attack and defense points by 300 with the spell Book of Secret Arts." The spellcaster woman glowed with a faint aura for a short moment as she chanted an incantation. (1400-1700/1000-1300)

"She must be a spellcaster duelist," Jaden commented.

"Sure looks like it," Jeremy pitched in.

"Now my sage will attack Strikeroid, with Blaring Sound Spell." The silver haired woman raised her staff, its gem glowing as she did so.

"Not so fast!" Syrus interrupted. "I play my trap, Magic Cylinder. This takes your attack, and sends it right back at you." A pair of cylinders appeared, floating in mid-air before the cartoonish jet.

"Not quite, because I've got the quick-play spell Trap Booster. So by discarding one card in my hand, I can instantly play a trap. Like this one for example… Trap Jammer, which negates your Magic Cylinder." Her monster then thrust its staff forward, conjuring a sound wave which tore through the floating cylinders and Syrus' machine.

Syrus: 4000-3900

"I'll end my turn with a face-down of my own."

"Huh, she used up all the cards in her hand just like that," Jeremy noted.

"She might have a backup plan of some sort," Jaden suggested.

"Let's see here…" Syrus muttered. He then drew a card, getting Steamroid, and taking notice of a few select cards he already had in his hand. 'Alright! Since I've already got Gyroid and Polymerization, I'll be able to summon Steam Gyroid.' "Get ready. I play Polymerization to- huh?" Syrus interrupted himself when he noticed that his spell card wasn't activating.

"Sorry bout that," the Slifer girl spoke up. "But when on the turn after Sage of Silence destroys one of your monsters in battle, you're not allowed to activate spell cards."

"Okay… then I'll summon Steamroid instead." The cartoonish steam powered train appeared at the ready in front of Syrus. (1800/1800) "And check this out, when he's on the offensive, he gains 500 attack points. Now full steam ahead." Syrus' monster blew out steam as it prepared to charge. (1800-2300/1800) That done, it then powered straight forward, crashing into and overpowering its opponent.

New Girl: 4000-3400

"I reveal my trap, Card of Last Will. When one of my monsters in destroyed by battle or an effect, I'm allowed to draw until I have five cards."

"Okay then, I'll end my turn by laying down another face-down," Syrus said as his monsters attack points returned to normal. (2300-1800/1800)

"Alright then… I summon Magician's Valkyria in attack mode." A woman dressed in a green outfit, with a pointy hat and a purple skirt appeared on the field. She had long orange hair and carried a hooked staff with emeralds embedded in the tip. (1600/1800) "Now attack, with Emerald Magic Blast." Valkyria raised her staff, gathering green energy at the tip.

"Huh? Why'd she be doing that?" Jeremy wondered.

"Yeah, Steamroid has more attack points," Jaden pointed out.

"Steamroid may gain 500 points when attacking, but he loses them on the defense," the Slifer girl spoke up. "Isn't that right, Syrus?" (1800-1300/1800)

"That may be, but since you're attacking when I only have machine type roid monsters out, I can use my trap Supercharge. Now I can draw two cards." Syrus drew his cards, and then the female spellcaster brought down her staff, releasing a ball of emerald energy which raced across the field and destroyed Steamroid.

Syrus: 3900-3600

"Another face-down card ends my turn."

"Let's see…" Syrus muttered as he drew, looking over the cards now in his hand. "I play Replacement Parts. So by discarding a machine type monster, I can add a different one from my deck to my hand. So I'll toss out Gyroid to pick up Turboroid, then summon him in defense mode." Another jet, similar to Strikeroid appeared, except that it was larger, had rocket boosters on its back and was more heavily armed. (1400/1800) "Then a face-down of my own ends my turn."

"Very well… I sacrifice Magician's Valkyria in order to summon Magical Marionette." The female spellcaster faded away, making way for a dark figure draped in a red hooded cloak with claw like hands. A string was running from each finger, attached on the other end to a faceless puppet armed with a pair of long knives. (2000/1000) "Then I activate Spell Power Grasp, which puts a spell counter on any compatible card and allows me to pick up another copy from my deck, tough I can only use one per turn. Also, my monster automatically gains another counter for each spell that's played." The puppeteer glowed with a faint aura, powering up in the process. (2000-2400/1000) "Now, as I'm sure you noticed, Magical Marionette gains 200 attack points for each spell counter it has. But, by removing two, I can destroy a monster you control." (2400-2000/1000) The spellcaster's aura disappeared, at which it commanded its puppet to lunge forward, knives drawn.

"I'm not about to make it that easy for you," Syrus interrupted, revealing his face-down, which showed a bunch of men hard at work on a small jet. "I activate the trap, Emergency Repairs. When a roid monster I control would be destroyed, I can save it by sending another one from my deck to the graveyard. So I'll toss out Stealthroid to make sure Turboroid can stick around." The faceless puppet bounced off its target's metal hide and landed on its side of the field.

"Fine with me. I play Call of the Haunted to bring back Magician's Valkyria." The orange haired spellcaster rose again before her duelist. (1600/1800) "Now, Magical Marionete, destroy his Turboroid." The puppeteer twitched its fingers, commanding its puppet to lunge forward again, this time successfully slicing apart its target. "And with that out of the way, my valkyria can hit you directly." The female spellcaster raised her staff again, gathering a ball of emerald energy, which she then released at Syrus, taking out a chunk of his life-points.

Syrus: 3600-2000

"That's it for now."

"Come on Sy," Jaden encouraged their friend.

"Just keep trying. You can turn this thing around," Jeremy pitched in.

"Thanks guys. Now watch this. I remove Stealthroid, Strikeroid and Turboroid from my graveyard. Then I can summon… Solidroid Beta." A tall and humanoid figure appeared on the field. From the waist down, his body was white, with the armor around his torso and helmet being red, and his two arms being large blue cannons. (2500/1900) "And check out his special ability. Upon being summoned, one of your monsters automatically gets kicked off the field." Syrus' powerhouse monster slammed one of its arms into the ground, creating a fissure that swallowed up Magical Marionette.

"Way to go!" Jeremy cheered.

"Sweet move!" Jaden added.

"That's not all. I also summon Missileroid in attack mode." A missile with a cartoonish face, wings and a tail end appeared floating in mid-air next to its larger ally. (1000/200) "Now Beta, attack her valkyria with Dual Sonic Blaster." A small whine building up could be heard as Syrus' powerhouse monster raised both arms, bluish energy building up inside. The noise kept getting louder for a moment, until everything went silent… and then twin blasts of blue sonic energy shot out, making light work of the female spellcaster and going on to hit her duelist, who had to brace herself to remain standing.

New Girl: 3400-2500

"Now Missileroid can blow away some more points." The named monster ignited its rocket, racing towards its master's opponent and crashing at her feet, causing an explosion and further lowering her life-points.

New Girl: 2500-1500

"And that's it for me," Syrus announced as Missileroid returned to his field.

"I've gotta admit, those were some pretty good moves just now," the Slifer girl commented. "But now it's my turn. And I activate Reload, which lets me return my hand to my deck, shuffle, and draw the same number of cards." She complied with the card's effect, smiling a little at what she now held. "Alright then, get ready. I activate the spell, White Magic Curtain." A pair of immaculate white curtains appeared on her field, with a skeleton standing behind them at the top, ready to pull them open.

"Hey, that looks just like Dark Magic Curtain," Jeremy noted.

"Yeah, wonder what this does," Jaden added.

"You're all about to see. Now, like Dark Magic Curtain, activating this card requires that I give up half my life-points."

New Girl: 1500-750

"But, instead of instead of summoning the Dark Magician from my deck, it summons White Magician." An almost identical copy of Yugi's most famous monster rose on the field, save that this one was garbed entirely in white, and instead of his staff being green, it was sapphire blue. (2500/2100)

"Whoa!" Syrus exclaimed.

"Impressed yet? Just wait until he takes out the rest of your life-points."

"How's he going to do that?" Jaden inquired.

"Yeah. Even if he attacks Missileroid, Sy's still gonna have life-points left over," Jeremy pointed out.

"Not after I play this, the spell Half Shut. This takes one of your monsters, and cuts its attack points in half." (1000-500/200) "Even though there's the little side effect of making it immune to destruction by battle, that's not much of a setback. Now go, White Magic Attack!" The Dark Magician lookalike thrust his staff forward, releasing a beam of white magical energy that passed through Missileroid and went on to strike Syrus directly, depleting the rest of his life-points.

Syrus: 2000-0

"Wicked duel," Jeremy commented as the remaining holograms faded away and the two duelists put away their duel disks and decks.

"Totally!" Jaden agreed.

"So, you mind telling us your name now?" Syrus asked.

"Sure thing. My name's Draga Alexanderia Lyna. But you can just call me Lyna for short."

"Well Lyna, let me be the first to welcome you to Slifer Red," Jaden said.

"Thanks guys. Would either of you know where exactly I'm staying for now?"

"Professor Banner said that they'd move an extra bed into Chazz's room for you to sleep on," Syrus piped up. "We could show you there if you'd like."

Jeremy's stomach suddenly rumbled, drawing attention to himself. "I've got a better idea. Why don't we show her to the lunch room instead?" The others laughed at this as they made their way towards the lunch room.

* * *

The following day, after classes, Jaden, Syrus and Jeremy were walking in the hallway with Lyna, showing her around the school's main building. "So, Lyna, where you from anyway?" Jaden inquired.

"I was actually born in the US and spent most of my life there," she answered. "My dad's Japanese and my mother's Native American. I lived in the states with my grandmother on my mom's side until a few months ago. After she passed away I moved in with my dad's mother and got enrolled in Duel Academy not too long after that."

"I see…" Jeremy muttered. "So, how'd you like Duel Academy so far?"

"It's pretty cool. The teachers all seem pretty nice, including Professor Banner, although he acts a little bit weird at times. But that's hardly any comparison to Crowler. At first I almost didn't realize that he was a guy."

"No worries," Syrus reassured her. "He's pretty strange, and a lot of people get confused with him at first. But at least he's still somewhat… once in a while."

"Ah ha, here we are," Jaden declared. "The card shack. Hey, it's sandwich day!" The brunette Slifer then dashed into the card shack, plunging his arms into one of the bins.

"What exactly is sandwich day?" Lyna asked.

"That's when they take a bunch of different sandwiches wrapped in the same packaging and put them in these bins," Jeremy started to explain. "If you're brave enough, you pick one and hope to get the eggwich. But you also run the chance of getting something… less than tasty."

"Sounds interesting. I think I'll give it a try." She and Syrus then went up to one of the bins, while Jeremy went into another corner of the shop.

"What'd you get this time, Jay?" Syrus asked, noticing that his friend didn't seem too happy with his choice.

"Chicken liver," he moaned in response, causing Lyna to laugh a little at his predicament. She then randomly plucked out one of the sandwiches, took off the wrapping, and sunk her teeth into it. "Well?"

"I fink wiff iff ve va voo woo." She then swallowed the bite she'd taken out. "I think this is the right one. It tastes pretty good. Let's see…" She opened up the sandwich, confirming that she had in fact gotten the correct one.

Jaden's face dropped at this. "What! You got the eggwich, completely at random, on your very first try!"

"Yep. Sucks for you," she said, playfully sticking out her tongue at him.

"Hi Jaden, Syrus." The three of them turned to face the direction the voice had come, seeing that it was Bastion. "How are you doing today?" The two boys confirmed to him that they were fine. "Good to know. And who might you be?" he inquired, having just taken notice of Lyna. "I don't believe I've seen you around here before."

"My name's Draga Alexanderia Lyna. But I don't mind just being called Lyna."

"I'm Bastion Misawa," he replied, shaking her hand at the same time. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lyna. Are you new to Duel Academy?"

"Yeah, I just transferred in yesterday. They told me I was good enough to be in Ra Yellow, but I have to duel someone to decide whether I change dorms or not. But, until then I'm hanging out in Slifer Red. At least I got to duel with Syrus already."

"Yeah, you should've seen it," Jaden said. "It was a really awesome duel. Especially when she won with that new magician card."

"New magician card?" Bastion inquired, to which Lyna grabbed her deck and pulled out her White Magician card, showing it to him. "Ah yes, the White Magician, counterpart to the Dark Magician. I'd heard that they'd made a series of cards like these, but I hadn't yet had the chance to see them."

"By the way," Syrus spoke up. "He's really smart and knows a whole lot about Duel Monsters. Almost like a walking dictionary."

"Is that right?" Lyna asked, an amused smile on her face.

"Well… if you want to put it that way, I-"

"Watch what you're doing, stuck up blue punk!" The group of four, along with most of the other people in the card shop, turned towards the disturbance. Apparently, a burly Obelisk Blue boy with spiky green hair had purposefully bumped into Jeremy, and also wiped his hand on his jacket, causing him to blow a fuse.

"Pff, stuff it, you Slifer reject," he shot back with a sneer.

"That's it. You got a problem with me, wise guy?"

"Yeah. You're a puny Slifer and your hair looks stupid."

"Says the guy with spiky green hair."

"Whatever. I don't need a dueling monkey standing in my way, so buzz off."

Jeremy's face ticked at the mention of dueling monkey. "THAT'S IT! You're going down you brainless moron!"

"Pah! You wanna duel me?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna beat you in less than three turns."

"Like that's about to happen." The two duelists then walked out of the card shop and made their way towards the main dueling arena, followed by a bunch of students.

"Well… that went fast," Lyna noted.

"My thoughts exactly," Bastion added.

"Jeremy sure has a temper sometimes," Syrus commented.

"Yeah. That bit about dueling monkeys sure sent him overboard."

They soon arrived at the main dueling arena, where the two duelists stood on either end of the platform and their audience went into the seats. Both duelists then strapped on the disks and inserted their decks. "You ready to lose, slacker?"

"No, I'm ready to win!"

"Then let's do this."

Jeremy: 4000

Rude Guy: 4000

"I'll go first," Jeremy declared as he drew his sixth card. "I play the spell Gateway of the Six." The dark gate with the emblem of the six samurai on its doors rose up behind him. "This gains two bushido counters whenever a six samurai monster is summoned. Like this guy for example… Chamberlain of the Six Samurai." The metal limbed warrior sat down in front of Jeremy, his sword held out before him. (200/2000) A pair of symbols started to glow on the gateway. "I'll end my turn with one face-down."

"Pathetic," the Obelisk boy scoffed. "Here's a real move. First, I play Heavy Storm, to destroy all spell and trap cards on the field." A violent wind suddenly came into existence, blowing away Jeremy's gateway and face-down Mirror Force. "Then I activate Cost Down. So by discarding a card from my hand, all monsters I'm holding lose two levels. That means I don't need a sacrifice to summon Total Defense Shogun." A muscular man wearing minimal armor on his chest, large spiked shoulder plates and a red cloak on his back stood on one knee opposite Jeremy's field. He had a pair of large swords hanging over his back, another unsheathed in his right hand and a large shield with a yellow symbol in the left. (1550-2500) "Then I activate Monster Reborn, to bring back the Fiend Megacyber I discarded." An imposing man appeared on the field, dressed in black robes, with sturdy yellow armor covering almost all his upper body and a pair of gray spikes at each shoulder and on the pointed chin of his helmet. (2200/1200)

"Not a bad lineup," Lyna noted.

"Nothing Jeremy can't handle," Jaden said reassuringly.

"Fiend Megacyber, attack with Cybertronic Impact." The monster in question gathered energy in his right fist, then dashed forward, taking out Jeremy's chamberlain with a single punch. "Now, Total Defense Shogun will take a chunk out of your life-points."

"What? But he's in defense mode," Syrus pointed out.

"That may be, but Total Defense Shogun's ability allows him to attack even when he's in defense mode," Bastion explained. The defending warrior rose to his feet, then charged across and field and swung his sword, which Jeremy intercepted with his duel disk, though not without taking damage.

Jeremy: 4000-2450

"Is that it?" the blond Slifer asked.

"No, it's not. I place this card face-down and play Swords of Revealing Light." A multitude of swords made of light appeared around Jeremy's end of the field. "Now even if you manage to summon a monster stronger than mine, it won't even be able to attack." 'And even if you get past that, I still have my own Mirror Force ready and waiting.' "Now I end my turn."

"Finally. I activate Six Samurai United. And it gets one bushido counter each time a six samurai monster's summoned. So I'll bring out Shien's Advisor." The blue robed warrior rose on the field behind the swords of light, keeping his katana sheathed, but still ready to draw it. (1700/1000)

"He isn't even a six samurai monster," the Obelisk boy said.

"But his effect treats him as one. Plus, whenever he's summoned, I can automatically place two bushido counters on any compatible card. So Six Samurai United gains three. Then I'll play Cunning of the Six Samurai. With this, I sacrifice a six samurai monster I control, then get to summon one from either grave." Shien's Advisor faded away, only to reappear a second later.

"Brilliant move!" Bastion commented. "By re-summoning his advisor, Jeremy's spell just gains three more counters."

"Now, by giving up my spell, I can draw cards equal to the number of bushido counters it has." Jeremy placed his spell in the graveyard, then drew six cards from his deck. "Next up, I discard Shadow of the Six Samurai to summon the Six Samurai Kamon." A shadow appeared on the floor, from which emerged the brown armored samurai. (1500/1000) "Then I'll play The Warrior Returning Alive, to pick up Shadow on the Six Samurai, and use his effect again. This time to summon Yaichi." The yellow armored samurai appeared from a shadow amongst his allies, holding an arrow to his bow. (1300/800) "I also play the spell Turn Jump. This skips three turns ahead to the same phase as we're in now. So I can summon my final monster, the Six Samurai Yariza." The blue armored samurai rose on the field, gripping his spear in both hands. (1000/500)

"In case you didn't notice, my swords are still in effect."

"But not for long. Cause I'm using Kamon and Yaichi's effects to destroy your swords spell and face-down card." Kamon lit up two pairs of dynamite sticks, throwing them at the swords of light and blowing them up, while Yaichi pulled back on his bowstring and shot the Obelisk boy's faced-down.

"So you took out my spell and face-down. That doesn't change a thing. Even if you can attack, your strongest monster is still 500 points short of matching my Fiend Megacyber."

"It's not the strongest monster that you should be worried about, it's the weakest one."

"Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?" Syrus wondered.

"I think he just might," Jaden replied.

"And what would that be?" Bastion inquired.

"You'll see soon enough."

"Pah, why should I be worried about a weakling like that one?"

"Allow me to enlighten you, by playing Repeated Strike. First, this prevents all my monsters from attacking, except for the one with the lowest attack points. In this case, Yariza. Then you take how many monsters I have, add em up, and that gives you the number of times he can attack this turn."

"That's still no use."

"There is another teensy weenie, but ever so important little detail that I haven't mentioned yet. When he's on the field with a different six samurai, Yariza can attack you directly."

The Obelisk boy's face fell as realization sunk in. "But wait… that means…"

"That it's game over for you. Go, Yariza. Super Blazing Spear." Jeremy's named warrior leapt high into the air, throwing his spear which passed through the Obelisk boy like a ghost. He followed up by pulling on the cable connected to his weapon, which passed through its target on the way back, then jerked to the side so that it smacked the side of his face with the blade's flat. He then caught it in while still in mid-air, and finished by coming down on him in one giant falling slash, knocking him off his feet and the platform.

Rude Guy: 4000-0

"Welcome to Loserville, pal. Population, you."

Jeremy put away his deck and duel disk after the holograms faded away, then walked out of the arena and met up with his friends. "Sweet duel, man," Jaden commented.

"Way to play," Syrus pitched in.

"That was quite an impressive victory," Bastion added.

"I'd say," Lyna agreed. "So, from the looks of things, you're a six samurai duelist. And Syrus, you use vehicroids. What about you guys?"

"I run an elemental hero deck," Jaden answered.

"I actually alternate between six different decks," Bastion said. "One for each attribute."

"Huh, interesting variety."

"Hey guys." The five of them looked down one of the side halls, seeing Alexis and Christine walking towards them, the latter with her hair still in a ponytail.

"Hey," Jaden said back. "Alexis, Christine, this is Lyna. Lyna, this is Alexis and Christine."

"Nice to meet you," the blond girl said.

"Same here," Christine added. "Are you a new transfer student?"

"Yeah, just came in yesterday after classes. I'm liking the place so far. I got to duel Syrus when I arrived at the dorm, and the boys have been showing me around a bit."

"Plus, she got to see my supreme awesomeness against some snobby Obelisk guy just before now," Jeremy boasted proudly, causing the others to chuckle in amusement. Christine then gave him a light smack on the back of his head. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Your head was so blown up, I thought it'd be best to deflate it now."

Jeremy pouted at this. "You're so mean."

"Are you two a couple?" Lyna inquired.

"That they are," Alexis answered in their place. "Although looking at them now, you'd hardly believe how long it took them to actually realize they liked each other. And they only did realize when she pretty much jumped on him." Christine and Jeremy blushed a little in embarrassment, while some of the others laughed at them.

"Come on, let's go," the blue haired girl said to her boyfriend, grabbing his sleeve, her cheeks still red.

"Huh? Where?"

"… somewhere."

The girls looked at each other and grinned knowingly.

* * *

Following this, the group stuck together, continuing to show Lyna places which they deemed worthwhile. As they were doing so, Alexis and Bastion both had the chance to talk with the Slifer girl and find out more about her, some of which Jaden and Syrus had already been told, and some of which they had not. Lyna also had the chance to learn some things about them, and also about the adventures they'd had at school so far, which also included telling her about the Shadow Riders.

They were somewhat surprised by her reaction to hearing about the Sacred Beasts, Shadow Riders, shadow games and everything related to such. When Bastion commented to her about this, she merely responded that she'd always had a certain belief in duel spirits and such things, which they all seemed to find interesting.

Finally, after wandering about for some time, they all split apart to go back to their respective dorms. When Lyna, Syrus and Jaden arrived at the Slifer dorm, they were about to go to their own rooms, when Professor Banner came up to them. "Hello Lyna," he spoke up. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I've arranged for your evaluation duel to happen right after classes tomorrow, at the main dueling arena. You'll be facing off against an Obelisk student by the name of Damian Kraus, and if you win, you'll be moved into Ra Yellow."

"Thank you, Professor."

"Not a problem," he replied, turning around and leaving them by themselves again.

"So, looks like you'll be moving into Ra tomorrow," Jaden said.

"Well, just as soon as I win the duel I will," Lyna specified.

"I'm sure you'll win," Syrus pitched in.

"Thanks Sy. Now, if you guys don't mind, I'll get to my room to prepare my deck."

"Sure thing," Jaden said. "See you later."

Lyna then made her way to the room she was sharing with Chazz. After knocking at the door and waiting for a second, she walked in and saw that Chazz wasn't there. She went over to the spare bed and sat down on it, taking out her deck to look it over. She grabbed a few spare cards that she'd set aside on a desk and laid them out next to her deck. As she was making a few changes, she happened to grab one of her cards, at which a figure emerged from it.

The figure was a well built man, although not overly muscular, dressed in a black vest, black pants, black sneakers and a wristband of the same color on each arm. His hair was black, with traces of red, with bangs falling down and hiding part of his face, and he also wore bits of jewelry about himself, giving him an overall gothic appearance. "Hello Chris," she said when the duel spirit appeared.

"_Hey, Lyna_," it spoke back. "_You excited much?_"

"Yeah, I'm hoping to have a fun duel against this next guy. If I win I get to go to Ra Yellow, and even if I lose and stay in Slifer, it won't be so bad, given who I'll be hanging out with."

"_They seem like an interesting bunch_," the gothic duel spirit commented. "_Especially Jaden and Jeremy._"

"From what I've heard, it sounds like they're both pretty good duelists." Both duelist and spirit remained silent for a moment, until Lyna finished arranging her deck and then put it back together. "And there we go."

"_Good,_" the duel spirit said. "_Now we're ready for whatever comes tomorrow._"

* * *

After classes the next day, a large bunch of students, including Jaden, Jeremy and all their friends, along with a handful of staff, had gathered in the main dueling arena. Lyna was standing on one end of the platform in the middle, duel disk and deck at the ready, waiting for her opponent to show up. "Is this guy going to show up yet?" Jeremy complained.

"Stop complaining, will you?" Erik spoke up. "He'll show up sooner or later."

"I hope it's sooner," Jaden said. "I wanna see how this duel's gonna turn out."

"Hey bro, do you know anything about this Damian guy?" Syrus inquired.

"Only that he uses some kind of warrior deck," Zane replied.

Shortly after this, an Obelisk Blue boy walked into the arena and made his way to the opposite end of the platform where Lyna was standing. One particular factor about his appearance was that he had spiky green hair. "Not this idiot!" Jeremy exclaimed upon recognizing him. A few of the others, with the exception of Jaden, Syrus and Bastion looked at him with questioning expressions. "He's a jerk without manners that I dueled yesterday and kicked his butt."

"I see... " Alexis said.

"Attention please," Crowler spoke up into the microphone. "Now, this duel will determine whether our newest transfer student, Ms Alexanderia Lyna will get to advance into Ra Yellow or not. Her opponent in this match, will be Damian Kraus, from Obelisk Blue."

"At first, when they told me I was gonna be dueling against some Slifer chick, I almost didn't believe it," the Obelisk boy said with a sneer. "Can't see why I'd be wasting my time with someone like you."

"You're acting pretty confident," Lyna noted. "Considering that you lost against Jeremy in two turns, and that he's a Slifer as well."

"That was just pure luck. There's no way a Slifer could truly defeat me. Now get ready for a pounding, little girl. Cause you're going down."

"Come on Lyna, kick his butt!" Jeremy said.

"Will do," Lyna replied as both her and her opponent started up their disks and drew their first cards.

Damian: 4000

Lyna: 4000

"I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode." A man wearing armor, wielding a sword and with messy blond hair appeared on the field. (1200/400) "Then I'll use his effect to summon another one from my hand." An exact copy of the already present monster rose next to the first. (1200/400) "And with two of them on the field, you can't touch either one. Next I activate Allied Forces, giving them both a boost in attack points." (1200-1600/400) x2 "That ends my turn."

"I play the spell Arcane barrier." A spell cards appeared, its image showing an imposing figure dressed in dark green robes and holding a staff with a purple gem raised, magical energy swirling about it. "Next I'll summon Apprentice Magician in defense mode." A blond woman appeared kneeling before Lyna. She wore a red headband, purple outfit, which included the boots and armguards, and she also had a white belt and simple magician's staff. (400/800) "And when summoned, he puts one spell counter on a compatible card." A small orb of light appeared at a corner of Lyna's spell card. "Two face-downs and that's all for now."

"Hmm, not much action yet," Jeremy commented.

"No worries, I'm sure things will get heated up pretty soon," Jaden pitched in.

"Even though those Marauding Captains prevent her from attacking, Lyna still appears to have a good plan in play," Bastion noted.

"Now we'll see how it holds up," Alexis added.

"That's it, huh?" Damian sneered. "Pah. Check this out. I summon Command Knight in attack mode." A woman wearing armor appeared in front of him. Wearing red armor, helm and with golden hilted sword at her waist. (1200/1900) "And as long as I've got another monster on the field, you can't attack her. Plus all my warriors gain 400 attack points." (1200-2200/1900) (1600-2200/400) "Then I activate Offerings to the Doomed, so I can automatically destroy your puny magician."

"Not quite. I activate Magic Jammer. So by discarding a card from my hand, I can negate the effect of your spell card." Lyna placed one of her cards in the grave, at which Damian's spell fizzled and shattered.

"Fine, I'll attack your puny monster with one of my captains." One of the Marauding Captains charged forward and cut down the defending spellcaster.

"Since a spellcaster type was just destroyed, Arcane Barrier gains another spell counter. Plus, thanks to Apprentice Magician's effect, I can choose a level two or lower spellcaster in my deck and place it face-down on my field." A second ball of light came into existance around another of the spell's corners at the same time as a face-down monster appeared in front of Lyna.

"Fine, I'll just destroy it with my other captain." The second captain charged forward and destroyed the face-down mosnter, which turned out to be another Apprentice Magician. Lyna then placed another face-down monster on her field and her spell gained a third counter. "Command Knight attack." Again the face-down monster turned out to be an Apprentice Magician, at which the same process was wordlessly repeated. "I end my turn."

"Good for you. Now I reveal my face-down monster, Old Vindictive Magician." The monster that flipped up was an short old man in red/orange robes, wearing a blue cape and holding a small green staff. (450/600) "And when he's flipped up, I can destroy one of your monsters. So you can say goodbye to your Marauding Captain lock." The aging spellcaster shot out a beam of green and purple energy, destroying one of the Marauding Captains, causing the remaining warriors to lose points. (2200-2000/400) (2200-2000/1900)

"Nice move," Erik commented.

"Now she's free to attack," Christine pointed out.

"Annoying little girl," Damian growled.

"Guess what, I'm about to get even more annoying. But before I get to that, I'll activate the effect of my Arcane Barrier. By sending it to the graveyard, along with a spellcaster monster I control, I get to draw one card for each spell counter on it." The old spellcaster faded away, along with Lyna's spell card, allowing her to draw four cards. "Now I activate Call of the Magicians. With this, by giving up a thousand life-points, I can summon two specific monsters from my hand."

Lyna: 4000-3000

"Meet, White Magician and White Magician Girl." A pillar of white light appeared before Lyna, from which came out the White Magician, and a woman similar to Dark Magician girl, except dressed in white and with black hair. (2500/2100) (2000/1700)

"Wow, she's cute," Chumley said.

"Hey, I saw her first," Syrus shot back.

Jeremy sighed as his forehead met the palm of his hand. "Not this again."

"Careful Syrus," Zane spoke up with the shadow of a smile on his face. "Dark Magician Girl might get jealous."

White Magician Girl unexpectedly raised her staff, gaining a small boost in attack points. (2000-2300/1700) "Huh? what's up with that?" Damian asked.

"Let me explain," Lyna spoke. "She gains 300 attack points for every White Magician and White Magician of Life in my grave. And in case you were wondering, I discarded White Magician of Life to fuel Magic Jammer's effect. Now she'll take out your Captain with White Burning Flash." The female spellcaster raised her staff, and when she brought it down, she unleashed a burst of bright white magic, burning away the remaining Marauding Captain.

Damian: 4000-3700

(2000-1800/1900) "Now it's his turn. White Magic Attack." The more powerful spellcaster thrust his staff forward, shooting out a beam of white energy, which struck Command Knight in the chest and destroyed her.

Damian: 3700-3000

"That's all for now."

"Since you have more than two monsters on the field, I can special summon The Fiend Megacyber." The imposing yellow armored warrior stood tall opposite the two magicians. (2200-2400/1200) "Then I'll use my normal summon to bring out another Command Knight." Another copy of the previous female warrior appeared on the field, empowering herself and her ally. (1200-2000/1900) (2400-3000/1200) "Now, Fiend Megacyber, attack her White Magician Girl with Cybertronic Impact." Damian's named monster charged up yellow energy in his fist, then charged forward, taking out Lyna's female magician with a single punch.

Lyna: 3000-2300

"I end my turn."

"This doesn't look too good for her," Chazz noted.

"I wouldn't be too worried," Jaden said reassuringly.

"She'll probably turn things around before you know it," Jeremy added.

"Guess we're about to find out," Zane muttered.

Lyna drew her next card, smiling a little at what it was. "Get ready," she said to her opponent. "I equip White Magician with Holy Magic Tome, giving him an additional 600 attack points." A bright aura flared up around White Magician for a moment, giving him more points. (2500-3100/1700) "Now he's got just enough edge to take out your Fiend Megacyber." The Slifer girl's magician thrust forward with his staff, shooting a beam of white energy that struck the yellow armored warrior and overcame him after a brief struggle.

Damian: 3000-2900

(2000-1800) "Then I activate my trap, Enlightenment. Since I didn't summon this turn, and one my spellcasters just destroyed a monster of yours, it can immediately attack again." White Magician twirled his staff for a second, before releasing another beam of white magical energy that made short work of Damian's knight.

Damian: 2900-1600

"It's your turn."

"Now that was lishus."

"You said it Chum," Syrus agreed.

"You're gonna regret doing that," Damian said with an angry expression. "I play this face-down and activate Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until we have six cards. Then I summon a third Marauding Captain. This time in defense mode." Another Marauding Captain appeared before Damian, this one standing on one knee. (1200-1400/400) "And I'll use his effect to summon Masked Knight lv3." A short knight decked out in steel gray armor appeared, the plates lined with gold and embeded with orange gems. He also had a golden cross on the foreheard of his helmet, along with metal wings and a sword sheathed at his back. (1500-1900/800) (1400-1600/400)

"Another level monster?" Syrus exclaimed.

"I thought only those North Academy people had cards like that," Chumley added.

"Things may get more difficult soon," Erik muttered stoically.

"Yeah, those level monsters from before were pretty tough," Jeremy noted.

"Hey Chazz, do you know what these monsters do?" Jaden asked.

"No, I don't," he answered. "But I doubt it'll do Lyna any good."

"Now then, thanks to his effect, by giving up his attack, I can inflict 400 points of damage to you." The golden cross at the knight's forehead glowed for a second, before shooting out a blast of light directly at Lyna.

Lyna: 2300-1900

"Then I'll use the spell Level Up. So I can sacrifice Masked Knight lv4, to summon his lv5 form." The short knight suddenly grew until he was almost twise as well, and tougher looking as well. (2300-2700/1300) "And by giving up his attack, he deals 1000 points of damage." The taller knight did the same move as his shorter counterpart had done before, safe that his attack was bigger.

Lyna: 1900-900

"That ends my turn."

"White magician, attack his captain." White magical energy began to charge up in the tip of Lyna's magician's staff.

"Not so fast," Damian interrupted. "I activate my trap, Magic Cylinder. So your magician's attack is negated and his attack points come right out of your life-points." A pair of cylinders appeared floating in mid-air before the Obelisk boy's Marauding Captain.

"Oh boy," Christine muttered.

"This isn't good," Alexis added.

"If this hits, she's done for," Bastion pointed out.

"I play Trap Booster. And by discarding one card, I can play a trap from my hand. And I choose Shining Silver Force. This negates the effect of an opponent's trap that would inflict damage, and destroys it, along with all your other face-up spells and traps." White Magician then released his attack, destroying the cylinders, Damian's captain, and his Allied Forces card, causing his remaining monster to lose some points. (2700-2300/1300) "One face-down ends my turn."

"Now then, during my standby phase, I can sacrifice Masked Knight lv5 to summon his strongest form from my hand or deck, Masked Knight lv7." Damian grabbed a card from his hand and laid it down on his duel disk, at which his knight changed into an even taller and more imposing version of its previous self. (2900/1800) "And with his ability, I can automatically inflict 1500 points of damage." The cross on the knight's forehead began to glow brightly as it gathered energy.

"I play Mystic Wok. So by sacrificing White Magician, I gain life-points equal to his attack points. Also, since Holy Magic Tome is leaving the field, I gain 1500 more life-points." Lyna's magician disappeared in a burst of benevolent energy which refilled her life-points.

Lyna: 900-5500

The knight's attack was then unleashed, taking out a chunk of the Slifer girl's newly gained points.

Lyna: 5500-4000

"You may have dodged that bullet, but at his ultimate form, Masked Knight doesn't have the restriction of giving up his attack to inflict effect damage."

"This isn't good," Jeremy commented.

"Well duh," Chazz said. Damian's powerhouse warrior then unsheathed the large sword off his back, dashing forward and striking Lyna's duel disk.

Lyna: 4000-1100

"I end my turn."

"I play Pot of Greed, to draw two cards. Then I summon Herald of Creation." The monster that rose was a woman dressed in light robes, with blue and gold lining, wearing a gold headrest and holding a golden staff that had a circular tip. (1800/600) "With her effect, I can send one card to the graveyard in order to get back a level seven or higher monster." Lyna placed one of her cards in the grave and took back her selected monster. "Next up, is the spell, Ritual of Forgiving Life. This requires that I sacrifice eight stars worth of monsters. So I'll give up Herald of Creation from my field and Magician's Valkyria from my hand. Now I can summon White Magician of Life." Lyna's herald disappeared and made way for another woman. This one had a kindly demeanor, pale brown hair, was dressed in long white robes, held a spell book in one hand and a simple wooden staff with a rounded tip in other. (2800/2600)

"She's still a few points short of beating my knight," Damian pointed out.

"But not for long. I equip her with Book of Secret Arts, giving her 300 more attack and defense points." Lyna's magician chanted a few words as she glowed with a faint aura that granted her more power. (2800-3100/2600-2900) "Now attack." The female spellcaster raised her staff and concentrated, at which a gentle looking, but indistinguishable figure materialized on Damian's field, carrying away his knight.

Damian: 1600-1400

"And when she destroys one of your monsters in battle, I gain life-points equal to half its attack points." The magician in question raised her staff again, conjuring a gentle white aura around her duelist, replenishing some of her life-points.

Lyna: 1100-2550

"That's all for now."

"I play Graceful Charity, drawing three cards at the price of two. Then I play Level Modulation, so you can draw two cards, but I get to summon back Masked Knight lv 7 from my graveyard." Damian's most powerful knight rose again from the grave. (2900/1800) "Now, because of Level Modulation's side effect, Masked Knight can't attack or use his effect this turn. But, since I have another one still in the grave, along with Last Day of Witch, I can play the spell, Magician/Warrior Rivalry."

"Ahh crap," Jeremy moaned. "This ain't gonna be pretty."

"That's for sure," Jaden agreed. "That spell sure did some damage in the school duel."

"Unless she has monsters in her deck that aren't spellcasters, then things will be next to impossible for her," Zane pointed out.

"Now, in case you didn't know, as long as this card's out, any spellcaster type monsters on the field go bye bye." Damian's knight pulled out his sword and swung it in a wide arc, sending forth a blade of golden energy that obliterated Lyna's magician. "Next up, I summon Warrior Dai Grepher in attack mode." A muscular warrior appeared on the field, dressed in tight blue clothing and wielding a two handed sword with a gold hilt and blue tint to the blade. (1700/1600) "Now he'll attack your life-points directly." The new warrior charged forward and swung his sword at Lyna, who didn't get the chance to block it.

Lyna: 2550-850

"Ha! I knew you Slifers were pretty much worthless," Damian taunted as he saw Lyna on one knee. "This just proves my point."

"Who said I was done yet?" Lyna interrupted as she got to her feet again. "I've still got another trick up my sleeve. And it's the trap card, Holy Magic From Beyond the Grave. I can only use this when I take more than a thousand points of damage while White Magician, White Magician Girl and White Magician of life are in my graveyard. Then, by removing all three, I can summon any spellcaster type monster I want from my hand, deck or graveyard, ignoring all summoning conditions. Now meet, The Great Houdini - Escape Artist." The monster that came up was a man with short, messy brown hair, dressed in a white shirt and formal black suit. Strangely enough, he had cuffs around his wrists and ankles, along with chains all around binding his arms and legs to his body. But, after only a few twitches and movements, they all suddenly fell off him into a pile at his feet. (2800/1900)

"Fat lot of good that'll do you. My spell is still on the field," Damian pointed out. His knight then swung his sword in the same manner as he had done to destroy her previous monster. But this time, Lyna's spellcaster waved his hands and muttered a few words, causing the attack to dissipate.

"Fortunately for me, Houdini is immune to any and all effects."

"Whatever. As long my cards are in the right place, any other spellcaster you summon will be pulverized. So I'll just go ahead and end my turn with one face-down."

"Alright then, here goes," Lyna said as she drew her card, smiling at what she now held. "I place a monster face-down and activate Magical Dimension. With this, when I control at least one spellcaster, I can sacrifice a monster I control to summon another spellcaster from my hand. So I'll sacrifice my face-down, in order to summon Chris Angel- The Illusionist." The gothic spellcaster materialized on the field next to his ally. (1400/700)

"_Finally, it's good to be out again. Now let's kick some butt!_"

"Right," she muttered to her duel spirit.

Winged Kuriboh and Shien's Footsoldier suddenly appeared next to their respective partners. "_Coo!_" the furry spirit said to the other.

"_Yes, it looks like she's got a duel spirit of her own_," was the reply.

"Really?" Jeremy asked, receiving a nod in return.

"Cool," Jaden added, both him and his friend turning their attention towards the duel again.

"Now, before you go on about that spell card of yours again, you should know that Magical Dimension has another effect. After I've summoned my spellcaster of choice, I can destroy one of your monsters. Like Masked Knight. And without him on the field, your magic card is destroyed." Damian's two names cards simply shattered. "Now, Houdini, attack Warrior Dai Grepher." Lyna's strongest monster raised his hands and thrust forward with his palms, causing the chains at his feet to rise and shoot out at the remaining warrior, striking him with deadly force and destroying him.

Damian: 1400-300

"Chris, attack him directly and end this duel."

"_I'd be glad to_," the magician in question said as he prepared himself to cast of spell.

"Your other guy may be immune to effects, but that won't protect this one. I play the trap, Sakuretsu Armor. When you declare an attack, this destroys your attacking monster. So your illusionist is going for a one-way trip to the graveyard." A spiky armor appeared on Lyna's field, starting to move to attach itself to her attacking monster.

"Oh no he's not. You see, even though my illusionist isn't immune to effects, he still has a handy special ability of his own. When he's made the target of an effect or attack, I can automatically redirect it to another monster I control." The set of armor passed through its target like a ghost, then continued towards Houdini, only to shatter against him. The real illusionist appeared right next to the fake one's previous position, then conjured a shimmering green serpentine dragon, which lunged forward and passed through the Obelisk boy, though not without draining the rest of his life-points.

Damian: 300-0

"And there you have it," Lyna said with a confident smirk as the holograms disappeared.

"No way, beaten by a Slifer, again," Damian muttered.

"Alright, Lyna!" Jeremy cheered.

"Sweet duel!" Jaden added.

"Well played," Bastion commented.

Some of the others cheered for her victory as well, though Zane was still fairly calm as usual, and Erik was mostly the same as him. Chancellor Sheppard, who had been watching the whole thing, stood up once the cheering died down and spoke loudly enough to be heard. "Congratulations, Lyna. That was quite an impressive duel. For your performance just now, I hereby grant you promotion into Ra Yellow. Great job!"

* * *

Later in the day, Lyna was finally moved into the Ra dorm. Even though there wasn't a building set aside for girls like in Obelisk, she nevertheless was given a separate room for herself. After she was done unpacking her stuff, she donned her new yellow blazer and went into the dining room, where she met up with all her fellow Ra students. "Welcome, Ms Lyna…" an older man with black hair said as they all sat down at the tables. "to Ra Yellow."

* * *

So, hope you liked it and please review. As a reminder, Lyna belongs to ThunderousViktory and not me.

**Cards made up in this chapter:**

White Magician  
Lvl: 7  
Attribute: LIGHT  
Spellcaster  
ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100  
Text: the ultimate wizard excelling in the art of white magic.  
Image: Dark Magician in white instead of purple

White Magic Curtain  
Quick Play  
Effect: pay half your LP to special summon a White Magician from your deck. You cannot normal summon, special summon or flip summon the same turn you activate this card.  
Image: Same picture as Dark Magic Curtain except white

Call of the Magicians  
Normal  
Effect: Pay 1000 LP and summon 1 White Magician and 1 White Magician Girl to the field from your hand.  
Image: White light pillar rising from the ground in a desert.

White Magician of Life  
Lvl: 8  
Attribute: LIGHT  
Ritual/Spellcaster/Effect  
ATK: 2800 /DEF: 2500  
Effect: this card can only be ritual summoned with the card, Ritual of Forgiving Life. For each monster destroyed, increase your LP by half the destroyed monster's ATK.  
Image: A woman with a kindly demeanor, pale brown hair, dressed in long white robes, a spell book in one hand and a simple wooden staff with a rounded tip in the other.

Ritual of Forgiving Life  
Ritual Spell  
Effect: This card can only be used to ritual summon White Magician of Life. You must tribute monsters whose levels total eight or more.  
Image: Altar in a roman catholic church

The Great Houdini- Escape Artist  
Lvl: 9  
Attrbute: Light  
ATK: 2800/ DEF: 1900  
Spellcaster/Effect  
Effect: This card is unaffected by all card effects.  
Image: A man with short messy brown hair, dressed in a white shirt and formal black suit. He has cuffs around his wrists and ankles, along with chains all around binding his arms and legs to his body.

Chris Angel- the Illusionist  
Lvl: 4  
Attribute: DARK  
Spellcaster/Effect  
ATK: 1400/DEF: 700  
Effect: When this card is attacked, or made the target of an effect, you can choose another monster you control to be the target.  
Image: A well built man, although not overly muscular, dressed in a black vest, black pants, black sneakers and a wristband of the same color on each arm. His hair is black, with traces of red, with bangs falling down and hiding part of his face, and he also wears bits of jewelry about himself, giving him a gothic appearance.

**That bunch of cards were all made up by ThunderousViktory, with a few twists of my own.**

Holy Magic Tome  
Equip Spell  
Effect: Equip only to a "White Magician" or "White Magician Girl" that you control. The equipped monster gains 500 attack points. When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, increase your life-points by 1500.  
Image: Same thing as Magic Formula, except lighter, without the lock or the key, simpler looking, kind of whitish, and with a cross on the cover.

Holy Magic From Beyond the Grave  
Normal Trap  
Effect: Activate when you take more than 1000 points of damage and you have White Magician, White Magician Girl and White Magician of Life in your graveyard. Remove those them from play and summon any one spellcaster type monster from your hand, deck or graveyard (regardless of summoning conditions).  
Image: A clean slated tombstone with a cross in the middle and a whitish mist swirling about it.

**The above two cards however, were created by me, but going along the same theme as the others.**

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, because it took me a REALLY LONG AMOUNT OF TIME TO FINISH IT! Anyway, thanks again for reading.

**Next chapter: **Chazz isn't the only one with family problems. What will result from this?


	45. This Apple Fell Far From the Tree

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX! That much should be obvious to pretty much anyone.

First of all, I'd like to thank Kaze-Kami-Ha for allowing me to use a few pieces from their fic in this chapter (thanks a lot for that).

I'd also like to thank Duelist of Dawn for his ideas which helped me develop this chapter.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack**  
**

**This Apple Fell Far From the Tree**

Another perfect day was starting over Academy Island. The morning sun was shining brightly, the water was sparkling, the grass was perfectly green, and all this was accompanied by a bunch of other such signs out of an immaculate fairytale painting done by a master artist. Over at the Obelisk boy's dorm, its residents were beginning to stir, getting out of bed, eating breakfast and preparing themselves for what seemed like it would be an ordinary day. It had been about four days since Lyna had moved into Ra Yellow, and things had pretty much settled into a normal routine.

In his own room, Erik Smithson was just finishing getting dressed after having taken a shower. As he was buttoning up his blue blazer, he turned his head towards the small table right next to his bed, where a plain red cell phone had just started ringing. Wondering exactly who would be calling him at this time of day, he went over to the table, picked up the phone and answered. "Hello?"

"Hello, Erik dear," a feminine voice spoke up on the other end of the line. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, hey mom," he replied. "I'm well enough."

"That's good to know. Look, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…"

"What's going on?" he asked, a curious frown on his face as he sat down on his bed.

"It's about your father. I know things haven't been so good with him, what with us living apart from each other for the past months. Anyway, the thing is that we've officially gotten a divorce, just last week. We've already sorted out most of the particulars… except for one thing."

"… It's me, isn't it?" he stated bluntly.

Erik's mother sighed. "I'm afraid so. Despite the fact that you've stopped living with him since he and I split apart, he's still determined to bring you under his thumb. I've tried to persuade him to just drop it, but he won't budge. And as much as I know about law, he still has more than a few private lawyers at his disposal, so unfortunately, he's well equipped on that end."

"Great," Erik muttered sarcastically.

"There is one more thing though… if your father manages to win this, he has all intentions of forcing you out of Duel Academy."

"Son of a… Isn't there anything you can do about this?" he asked with a mild touch of desperation in his voice. "Because I really do not want to leave Duel Academy, and even less to have to go live with that jerk again."

"Well… there is one thing…"

"What is it?"

"Your father and I may have come to a possible agreement of sorts. I'm actually coming over to Duel Academy later in the day to discuss this with him and the Chancellor."

"… Alright, I'll see you then." And with that done, he hung up, putting his phone away and heading out of his room, a gloomy expression now plastered on his face.

* * *

Later in the day, after having finished with their classes, Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus were simply hanging out, sitting on the stairs and just about doing nothing at all. "Funny how things have been so calm lately," Jeremy commented.

"Yeah, you got that right," Jaden agreed. "Those Shadow Riders haven't done anything since Camula appeared, and there hasn't been anything special since Lyna's promotion duel."

"What's so bad about things being calm for once?" Syrus asked. "I mean, it's not like we get this too often."

"I know," Jaden said. "It's just that it gets kind of... boring. I mean, all that's been happening is classes and all that stuff."

The three boys continued to lounge about in silence for a while, watching a few students passing by, until they happened to spot Erik who was coming over towards the stairway. "Hey Erik," Jeremy called out to him once he was close enough. "How ya doin?"

The brown haired Obelisk boy looked up at the blond Slifer, a monotonous expression on his face. "I'm fine," he said simply, his voice reflecting the same glumness that his face did.

"Err... okay then," he said, a little surprised by his behavior.

"Soooo... where you headed to?" Syrus inquired.

"Chancellor's office," he said in the same tone as before, walking past the three of them.

"What for?" Jaden pitched in, a curious expression on his face. At this, Erik simply turned his head around to look at him, then turned back and continued on his way without bothering to answer.

Silence reigned amongst the boys for a moment, all three of them looking at his retreating form with confusion in their eyes. "Well that was strange," Syrus commented.

"Yeah," Jeremy agreed. "I mean, he may not be the most social person I know, but still..."

"Wonder what's going on with him?" Jaden muttered. "Maybe he's in trouble or something... I say we go check it out." With Jeremy and Syrus voicing their agreement to this idea, the three boys all stood up and headed off in the direction of Chancellor Sheppard's office.

* * *

Not so long afterwards, Erik arrived in Chancellor Sheppard's office. Already in this room, was Chancellor Sheppard himself, sitting at his desk, along with Dr. Crowler, the headmaster of the boys in Obelisk Blue. Accompanying them, was a woman in her late thirties, but still quite young looking, with long brown hair, wearing a blue blouse with sleeves to her elbows, and a knee length skirt, also blue, but of a darker shade. "Hello Erik," the woman greeted him in a kind tone.

"Hi mom," he replied in a monotonous voice.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked with concern visible on her face.

"Yeah… I'll manage somehow." He then cast a brief glance around the room, seeing that there was nobody else present other than themselves. "Where's my father?" he asked Sheppard. "I thought he was going to be here to talk about this whole mess he's stirring."

"Actually, he'll be coming online in just a moment," Crowler answered, pointing to the television screen hung up on the wall.

Less than a minute later, the image of a man popped up on the screen. From a glance at his black suit, white shirt and tie, one could tell that he was no small fish in the realm of money. A stern, no-nonsense look was plastered on his face, giving the impression that this man meant business, and serious business at that. "Hello… Eleanor," he said with a touch of contempt, addressing the brown haired woman.

"Hello, Walter," she replied in a flat tone of voice, obviously not too happy with seeing her ex-husband's face.

"Hello, Erik," he said, turning his attention towards the Obelisk Blue boy in question, looking at him with a similar expression of contempt.

"Nice to see your hideous face again, old man," Erik spat out, sarcasm heavy in his statement.

"Still as rude and uncouth as ever," he remarked with a sneer. "Pity you haven't learned some manners yet."

Chancellor Sheppard interrupted the not so courteous father and son moment by clearing his throat. "Gentlemen… if you please, perhaps we could turn our attention towards the issue at hand?" Erik and his father broke off their staring contest for the moment.

"Now," Erik's mother began. "Despite me and Mr. Richard's divorce already being in effect, the issue of Erik's custody has not yet been solved. I have been living away from my ex-husband for months, with Erik having chosen to stay with me since then-"

"But he still isn't legally under your care only," Erik's father interrupted his ex-wife. "And I will have him leave Duel Academy behind to take his place at my side."

"Like hell I will," Erik muttered under his breath.

"Mr. Richard," Sheppard spoke up. "Erik is one of our finest students here at the academy. And given that the issue of which of you gets custody over him has not been resolved yet, he will continue to remain a student here. However, I don't believe that we're any closer to resolving this problem now than we were before."

"Yes, well, I did have an idea in mind that should take care of this whole mess in no time. Now, since Erik loves dueling so much, why don't we settle things with a duel?"

"Yes, that should work out well enough," Crowler said.

"Wait a minute," Erik butt in. "What kind of trick are you playing here? You've never dueled once in your entire life. There's no way you could win against any half decent duelist here."

"I was getting to that. You see, I never did say that I would be dueling myself. I will arrange to find a worthy duelist in my place to duel against you. Feeling up to the challenge?"

"Fine! Bring it on."

"Very well then," Eleanor spoke up. "If your duelist wins, you'll gains custody over Erik. However, if Erik wins, not only will I gain sole custody over him, but you'll leave him alone and never try anything like this again. Understood?"

"Of course, Ms. Smithson. I will be at the island, accompanied by my duelist at noon tomorrow. Will this be an acceptable time?" he asked Sheppard.

"As it is Saturday tomorrow, and there are no classes, there will be no problem with having the duel at that time," he answered.

"Very good. Tomorrow it is then. Good day." And with that said, the screen turned blank again.

"Can't believe that jerk wouldn't just let go in the first place," Erik muttered unhappily.

"It's okay Erik," his mother reassured him. "I'm sure you'll be alright. I know you'll win this."

"Yeah…" he said in a not so enthusiastic tone as he started to walk back out. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a bit."

* * *

While this had been going on, Jeremy, Jaden and Syrus had all been standing just outside, peeking in at what was going on inside. They pulled away when the screen went blank, stepping aside so that when Erik walked out of the room, he merely turned in the opposite direction and went down the hallway without paying attention to them. "Poor guy," Syrus commented, watching as he walked away.

"It must not be fun to have a father as mean as he does," Jaden added.

"Yeah..." Jeremy agreed. "He might have been a little snobby when I first met im, but still..."

"Excuse me," a feminine voice spoke up. The three Slifer students looked in the direction the voice came from, seeing that it was in fact, Erik's mother. "Are you three friends of Erik?"

"Yeah, we know him pretty well, so I guess you could say that," Jaden replied.

"I'm Eleanor, Erik's mother."

"Nice to meet you, Eleanor. I'm Jaden Yuki."

"I'm Syrus Truesdale."

"And I'm Jeremy Wheeler."

"I suppose you're all wondering about this whole situation," she spoke up.

"Well… we only noticed today that Erik was kind of down in the dumps," Jeremy answered.

"And of course, we were confused as to why he'd be like this," Syrus added.

"So, we kind of followed him when he said he was going to the chancellor's office. Although I didn't quite understand everything," Jaden finished.

Eleanor sighed a little, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah…" she muttered. "Why don't we go sit down somewhere, then I'll explain the situation to you."

* * *

Not too long afterwards, the three Slifer boys, along with Erik's mother, were all sitting down at a table in the cafeteria, with only a few other students sitting elsewhere in the same room, and none of them close enough to the small group to overhear their words. "Now… to start, Erik's father and I started… drifting part, about when Erik turned twelve. Back then, it wasn't all too serious, but it only got progressively worse. One of the main issues is that he wanted Erik to go into business just like him, regardless of the fact that he was never really interested."

"That's no fun," Jaden commented.

"Anyway," Eleanor continued. "At some point, Erik started to get more and more into duel monsters He eventually applied and was accepted at Duel Academy, and of course, his father was furious that he'd drift away from the path he wanted him to take. When he finished his first year, things had come to the point that he and I simply moved out and left my ex-husband behind. A few weeks ago, the divorce was made official, but he's still clinging to the idea that he can force Erik to do what he wants."

"But can't you do anything about that?" Jeremy wondered. "I mean, if you and Erik have been living apart from him for this long, doesn't that count for something?"

Eleanor sighed a little at this. "Not nearly enough. Erik's father has his hands in chain restaurants, clothing stores, and also a huge software company. Myself I'm a well off lawyer, so I'm pretty good in legal matters, but he's got money, and lots of it. Not to mention a few handfuls of private lawyers at his beck and call. So, despite everything, he's more than capable of putting pressure towards gaining custody over Erik, pull him out Duel Academy and force him away from everything he cares for."

The three boys remained silent for a moment, looking at Erik's mother with a slight amount of disbelief and incredulity in their eyes. "Whoa…" Syrus muttered. "I never knew the guy had it that tough."

"And now Erik will have to win tomorrow against whatever duelist his father has in store for him," Jaden added.

"I've dueled him twice myself," Jeremy spoke up. "And I've watched him duel a few times as well. I know he's good, and I'm sure he'll win."

"Although, my ex-husband certainly isn't about to pick out someone who's just a pushover. Anyway, all we can do now is hope for the best, and cheer him on when the time comes."

* * *

After walking through the hallways for some time, Erik finally arrived to his intended destination, that being the infirmary. "Hello, Erik," Ms. Fontaine greeted him as he walked in. "Are you here to visit your friend, Sean?"

"Yeah, pretty much," he answered.

"No problem, he's right over here." The headmistress for the Obelisk girls lead him over to a bed in the corner, upon which was lying the no longer possessed student.

"How's he been doing?" Erik inquired.

"His condition's practically perfect," she began. "There's nothing obviously wrong with him. The only thing is that he's still sleeping deeply, and hasn't showed any signs of waking up since you brought him here."

"At least it's not any worse," the Obelisk boy muttered to himself. "Can I be alone for a moment?" he asked Ms. Fontaine.

"Of course. I'll be close by if anything happens." And with that said, she walked away, leaving Erik to pull up a chair and sit next to his unconscious best friend.

"Hey Sean," Erik spoke up after remaining silent for a few minutes. "Hope you're doing alright. I know you probably can't hear me, but I thought I'd tell you this anyway... my parents have officially gotten divorced, but my father still has this idea in his thick head about making me follow in his footsteps. My mother's trying to get sole custody over me, but my father's not giving her an easy time. Tomorrow I'm going up against some duelist he's hired. If I win, then I get to stay with my mom, and if I loose... then my father gets his way and pulls me out of Duel Academy."

"What a bummer." Erik's head snapped upright at this, looking at his friend who, although he was still lying prone on his bed, was awake and had just spoken. The brunette Obelisk boy's eyes were wide open, his mouth almost dropping a little from the surprise he was feeling at the moment. "Well isn't that a way to greet your best bud after so long," Sean said, smirking at his friend's expression.

Shaking off his stupor, Erik's smiled a little in amusement. "I see your sense of humor hasn't changed since the last time." Sean laughed a little at this. "So… how're you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually," he answered. "Though I'm kind of tired, and my memory feels like it's full of gaping holes. Can't seem to remember much beyond the abandoned dorm… and the end of that duel against you. Apart from that… I'm fine."

"Good to know. So, how much did you hear just before know?"

"Something about your father being… well, a jerk, trying to force you out of Duel Academy, and you having to go up against a duelist he's hired."

"Yeah, reason being that my parents are now divorced, and there's the unresolved issue about who gets custody over me."

"I see… so, you got any good news?"

"Remember those card ideas I had before?" Sean nodded affirmatively, at which Erik reached into his deck case and removed the cards there. He then picked out a half dozen of them, showing them to his friend. "Well, here they are."

"Wicked stuff dude," the blond boy said with a grin. "With those bad boys in your deck, you'll win without a doubt." He then opened his mouth wide, letting out a yawn. "Anyway… if you don't mind, I think I'll catch up on some sleep now."

"No problem," Erik said as he stood up. "I'll come by tomorrow before the big duel."

"Alright. Later then."

* * *

Somewhere in a city rather far away from Duel Academy, there was a dingy looking club, with a dueling ring in the center. One man was down on his knees, apparently having suffered a defeat, while another one was walking away from where the duel had taken place. The obvious victor, was a man with short blond hair covered by an American flag bandana, dark sunglasses and a black leather vest overtop of a red t-shirt. "Tough luck," he muttered to himself, walking towards the bar, calling for a beer. A second later, the bartender pulled one out from under the counter, popping off the top and handing it over to him.

As he was drinking from his beer, the door to the bar opened up, with two rather tough looking big men walking through. They were both bald, dressed in black suits and ties, with sunglasses and an earpiece, and pretty much looked like large human shaped blocks. The only notable difference between the two was that one had dark skin, while the other's was light colored. Both men scanned the room, staring down and intimidating most of the people present, until their gazes settled on the man drinking his beer and ignoring them, beyond a short glance cast their way.

One of the men reached into his jacket, pulling out a photo, holding it out for his companion to see, then motioning towards the man sitting alone at the bar. The other one nodded at this, putting a finger to his earpiece and speaking a few short words as his friend stashed away the photo back in his jacket. A not so long moment later, another man came through the door, joining the first two. He wore a similar suit to the others, except that he was shorter, had blond hair that dropped just past his ears, a briefcase in one hand, and a prim and proper look about himself. With the two bodyguards beside him, he walked forward until stopping at the man sitting alone at the bar.

"Keith Howard?" he spoke up, addressing the man before him, who turned around to face him.

"Name's Bandit Keith," he replied. "And what's it to you?"

"I'm Walter Richard," he introduced himself. "I have need of your services. I'll pay you very well for them."

"You see, the thing is, I've got a few more duels around at this place, and I'd just hate to miss em."

"A single duel," Erik's father spoke up again. "One hundred thousand dollars, all in advance."

"Hmmmmm, really?" Keith muttered, his interest having been perked up because of the proposition. "So tell me, why is it that you need me then?"

"I'm divorced, my wife's clinging to our son, and I want him out of Duel Academy and working with me. The duel tomorrow decides whether his mother gets sole custody over him, or I do."

"Interesting... tell you what... Make it two hundred grand up front, and I'll be your man."

In response to this, Walter smacked his briefcase onto the counter, flicked aside the latches and popped it open. He then turned it around, allowing Keith to see a multitude of paper bills. "A hundred thousand cash," he said. "Come with me and you'll get the rest."

"I think you've got yourself a deal," Keith said with a grin.

* * *

Later on, after having finished eating, Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus were sitting by themselves in the Slifer dorm's cafeteria. Neither one of them was saying anything, rather just reflecting on Erik's predicament with not so happy expressions. "Wish there was some way we could help the poor guy," Jeremy said.

"Yeah, me too," Syrus added.

"Guess we'll just have to hope for the best," Jaden pitched in.

A moment later, Chazz walked in, taking a swig from a water bottle and wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. He stopped upon taking notice of his three fellow Slifers, and their mood. "What's got you three dweebs down like this?" he asked, mildly curious. "You lose your favorite cards or something?"

"Not exactly," Jaden answered.

"Yeah, so what is it then?" Jaden moved aside and bade Chazz to sit down, which he did with some reluctance. The three red coat boys then proceeded to explain Erik's dilemma, going from the meeting in Chancellor Sheppard's office, to what his mother had told them.

"Huh, well that sure isn't fun," Chazz muttered once they were done, an unusually solemn expression on his face. "His dad sounds as bad as both of my brothers. Guess I'm not the only one with family problems around here. For his sake, I hope he doesn't lose."

"Wow, Chazz, that sounded uncharacteristically nice, coming from you," Jeremy commented.

"Shut up," he snapped. "Besides, I'm surprised you even know a word that complicated."

"Wadda you mean by that?"

"Anyway…" Syrus spoke up. "Are you going to come watch the duel tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure," Chazz replied in a nonchalant manner. "I'll be there to see how it turns out. Now, if you three don't mind, I've got somewhere better to be."

* * *

The following day, some time shortly before noon, Erik was making his way towards the main dueling arena by himself. He had his duel disk already strapped onto his left arm, his deck put away in the case at his side, and a determined expression on his face. After walking along for a bit, he finally arrived at the arena, where his mother, along with Jeremy, Jaden, Syrus, Chazz and Zane were sitting together, with Chancellor Sheppard and Dr. Crowler a few seats below them. "Have my father and his duelist arrived yet?" he asked Sheppard.

After a not too long moment of waiting, five other people finally walked into the dueling arena. One of them was Professor Banner, along with his cat Pharaoh, the second was Erik's father, with his two bodyguards, and the last was a man wearing an American flag bandana, while carrying a deck and duel disk of his own. "Bandit Keith," Erik mumbled to himself, recognizing the man in question with ease. "Somehow this doesn't surprise me." The brunette Obelisk boy scowled, thinking back to just an hour ago, when he'd received a call from his father, just before going to visit Sean in the infirmary, to make sure he could watch the duel from his bed. In simple terms, his father had attempted to bribe him into purposefully losing the match, which ended up with Erik telling him to 'stick it where the sun don't shine', then hanging up in his face.

"Mr Richard," Chancellor Sheppard spoke up. "If you'd please make your way over here, we've written out an agreement for the conditions of this duel."

Erik's father walked over to the chancellor and took the clipboard which had a single piece of paper attached to it, mumbling to himself as he read. "Lose all rights over Erik if he wins... his mother gains sole custody... boy goes with me if he loses... Very well then." He then pulled out a pen from his pocket, and signed his name at the bottom. "Let's get on with the duel, shall we?"

Banner then joined Sheppard and Crowler, while Erik's father and his bodyguards sat by apart from the others. "So, you're the kid I've been hired to take out," Keith said as he stood face to face with Erik, each of them shuffling the other's deck. "I hope you don't take it personally. I'm just here cause your old man's paid me."

"Sure," Erik replied, a stern expression on his face. "It won't make it personal when I beat your ass."

"You've got guts, I'll give you that," Keith said, apparently amused with his opponent's attitude. "But guts won't help you here."

"Hey Zane, what're you doing with your PDA?" Jaden asked, seeing that the stoic Obelisk boy was holding it out.

"Erik told me that Sean woke up yesterday. He wanted him to be able to watch the duel."

"Jeremy, didn't your dad duel against Bandit Keith in the Duelist Kingdom tournament?" the diminutive Slifer asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "He stole my dad's entry card before their duel in the finals, but my mom gave him hers. And during their match he cheated by keeping a set of 7 Completed cards hidden, so he could use them at anytime, although my dad still won anyway."

The two opposing duelists finished shuffling, then passed the decks to their rightful owners and walked over to their ends of the platform. "Ready, kid?" Keith asked, firing up his duel disk.

"Does this answer your question?" he shot back, starting up his own.

"Let's duel!" they both said, each of them drawing their first five cards.

Erik: 4000

Keith: 4000

"I play a monster in defense mode and leave this card face-down." A face-down monster and spell or trap card appeared on Erik's field.

"I summon Robotic Knight." The monster that rose before Keith was a black, red and gold robot, with a hat that had a feather on its head. It held a sword in one hand, while the other was a machine gun. (1600/1800) "Then I'll throw in this spell card, Machine Assembly Line, giving my machines 200 more attack points." (1600-1800/1800) "Now fire away." Robotic Knight aimed its gun arm, and unleashed a line of bullets, tearing through Erik's monster, which turned out to be a round, pink battery with arms and legs. (100/100)

"You just activated Batteryman Bicro-Cell's effect," Erik declared. "When he's flipped-up, I can summon a level four or lower batteryman monster from my deck. Like, Batteryman A." The orange battery monster appeared on Erik's field, standing at the ready. (0/0) "Then I reveal Inferno Reckless Summon, meaning I can bring out the other two from my deck and hand." Two copies of the first monster appeared on the field. (0/0) x2 "And with three on the field all in attack mode, they each gain 3000 attack points." Erik's monsters linked hands for a second, electricity sparkling up and boosting their power. (0-3000/0)

"Not bad," Keith admitted. "But thanks to your card, I still get to summon two more copies of Robotic Knight from my deck." A second and third Robotic Knight kneeled down next to their already present ally. (1600-1800/1800)

"Regardless of that, when Micro-Cell's destroyed, I get to draw a card."

"Whatever. I'll put these two cards face-down and turn things over to you."

"Sweet move," Jaden commented.

"He managed to bring out three monsters with 3000 points," Chazz noted.

"You can do it!" Erik's mother cheered.

"My turn now," the Obelisk boy declared, drawing his card. "And I play Tribute to the Doomed, ditching a card in my hand to destroy one of your monsters in defense mode." A bunch of mummies rose from the ground, moving towards one of Keith's defending monsters.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've got a little trap card in my corner. I activate Magic Jammer, tossing out a card of my own to negate your spell." The mummies suddenly dissolved before reaching their target.

"Aww man," Syrus moaned. "He could've won the duel with this move."

"Unfortunately, despite Keith being not too honest, he's still good," Jeremy reminded them.

"Fine then. Batterymen, shock em." The three batterymen jumped into the air, creating a lightning bolt which fried the Robotic Knights, damaging Keith's life-points.

Keith: 4000-2800

"Because of Machine Assembly Line, whenever you destroy one of my machines, it gains two junk counters. But more on that later."

"Whatever. I'll end my turn by playing Lightning Crash, to add a thunder type monster from my deck to my hand. And I pick Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon."

"About time. I reveal my trap, Call of the Haunted, allowing me to bring back the Barrel Dragon I discarded for Magic Jammer." A black dragon like machine monster appeared on the field, with a long, glowing blue cannon on each arm, and one at its forehead. (2600-2800/2200) "Then I'll activate his special ability. I flip a coin, and if I get heads at least twice, I can destroy one of your monsters." Keith then pulled out a coin from his pocket and flipped. "Heads." He then tossed it a second time. "Tails." The onlookers watched closely as he flipped it a third time, seeing it land on... "Heads. Now blast one of his monsters to pieces." Keith's metal dragon charged up its middle cannon, firing off a shot of blue energy which blew up one of Erik's batteryman, causing the others to lose some points. (3000-2000/0) "Barrel Dragon, attack his second monster. Proton Blast." Keith's monster the fired off a shot from each of its cannons, tearing through another of Erik's monsters.

Erik: 4000-3200

(2000-1000/0) "One face-down ends my turn."

"I sacrifice Batteryman AA in order to summon Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon." The smaller battery monster faded away, making room for a large, metal dinosaur like monster, with red eyes and electricity sparkling about itself. (2400/1000) "And because of its effect, when I tribute summon it using Batteryman AA, it gains a thousand attack points." The electrified metal dinosaur gave out a loud, screeching roar as it powered up. (2400-3400/1000) "Now fry that Barrel Dragon." Erik's powerhouse monster opened its mouth wide, gathering a large amount of electricity, then spat it out, obliterating Keith's metal dragon.

Keith: 2800-2200

"Not a bad move," Keith admitted as he set off his face-down. "But I've got this, Card of Last Will. When one of my monsters is destroyed, I get to fill up my hand again, by drawing until I hold five cards."

"Fine," Erik said in an uncaring tone. "I place this face-down and end my turn."

"Nice," Jaden commented. "Looks like Erik's really giving Keith a run for his money."

"Let's just hope he can keep this up," Zane pitched in.

"Keith," Erik's father spoke up, sounding displeased. "I hired you for this duel because I heard you were good. I'm not seeing that right now."

"Don't worry. The kid may be in the lead, but I'm about to take things to the next level. And it starts with Graceful Charity, drawing three cards, and ditching two. Then I summon Machine King Prototype." The smaller Machine King monster appeared in front of Keith. (1600-1800/1500) "Now, since I've lost four machine type monsters so far, Assembly Line gained 8 junk counters. And by sacrificing it, I can summon a machine monster from the graveyard with as many or fewer stars than the number of junk counters. So by giving it u, I can summon Perfect Machine King." The powerful red and white humanoid machine monster rose on the field, towering over its smaller ally. (2700/1500) "Now he gains 500 points for every other machine on the field, and prototype gains a hundred." (2700-3200/1500) (1800-1700/1500)

"Aww man, this isn't good," Syrus whimpered.

"Are things really that bad for Erik?" Eleanor asked.

"Well…" Jeremy spoke up. "Apart from his batterymen and that monster he's got out now, his deck's got almost nothing but machines."

"Want more?" Keith taunted. "Then check out Clockwork Night. So my guys get 500 points stronger, yours gets 500 points weaker, and it turns into a machine, giving mine even more power." Erik's powerful thunder monster turned into a rusty metal color, loosing its electricity and some attack points. (3400-2900/1000) (1700-2300/1500) (3200-4200/1500) "Now crush his monster. Rocket Booster Fists." The upgraded Machine King raised both arms, preparing to shoot them at its enemy.

"I activate the trap card, Half Shield," Erik interrupted, a card flipping up that showed a heart shaped shield, with half of it being silver, and the other half black. "Because of this, both of us take only half the battle and effect damage we usually would for the rest of the turn." Keith's powerhouse monster then shot out both fists, rocketing towards Erik's field and passing through him like a ghost, but taking out a chunk of his life-points all the same.

Erik: 3200-2550

(4200-3700/1500) (2300-2200/1500) "You may only take half the damage, but you're still wide open for a direct attack." The prototype charged forward throwing a punch in the Obelisk boy's gut, though he refused to fall to his knees.

Erik: 2550-1450

"That all you've got?" he spat out.

"For now? Yeah. So I'll let you have a go."

'I better get something good right now,' Erik thought to himself. 'Cause I'll be done for if I don't.' He then drew his card, relaxing a little at what he held. "I play Swords of Revealing Light." A multitude of swords of light appeared around the two machine king monsters. "That ends my turn." 'At least with this I can keep him away from my life-points for a few turns. Hopefully that'll be long enough for me to get something to turn this duel around.'

"Stalling for time, are you?" Keith noted. "Alright then. I summon Cyber Commander in defense mode." A muscular black man with a large gun in his hands kneeled down beside the two other machines. He had a string of bullet around his torso, a backpack with a rocket launcher at his shoulder, and a mask on his face, covering everything below his eyes. (750/700) "Of course, since he's here, my other two guys gains a few more points. (750-1250/700) (3700-4200/1500) (2200-2300/1500) "And that does it for now."

"I'll put this face-down... and that's all."

"I sacrifice Cyber Commander to summon the original Machine King." The imposing, red, gray and green block like humanoid machine rose in place of the Cyber Commander. (2200/2000) "And he gains a hundred points for every machine type monster on the field, himself included. Not to mention the 500 bonus from Clockwork Night." (2200-3000/2000) "That ends my turn."

"I draw… and pass."

"I summon another Cyber Commander." Another copy of the previous named monster appeared, kneeling amidst the more powerful machines, his presence powering them all up. (750-1250/700) (2300-2400/1500) (3000-3100/2000) (4200-4700/1500) "That's all for now. And since my turn's over, your swords spell is gone." Just as he finished talking, the swords of light faded away, leaving his monsters free.

"Come on, Erik! You can do this!" The Obelisk boy in question turned his head, looking at Jeremy, Jaden and the others who were cheering him on.

"We believe in you," Eleanor said.

In the infirmary, Sean was lying awake in his hospital bed, watching the duel being transmitted back to him. "Come on, bud. You know they're right. You can do this."

Erik smiled a little to himself, turning his attention back to the duel at hand. "Here goes... I play Double Cyclone, destroying your Clockwork Night and my face-down Jar of Avarice." Keith's spell shattered, along with the goofy faced red jar, the former's absence causing Keith's monsters to lose points. (4700-4200/1500) (3100-2600/2000) (2400-1900/1500) (1250-750/700) "And with Jar of Avarice destroyed, I put back five spell or trap cards into my deck, shuffle, draw two, plus another one because my field's empty." Erik shuffled Swords of Revealing Light, Lightning Crash, Tribute to the Doomed, Inferno Reckless Summon and Half Shield into his deck, then drew three cards.

"The boy still persists," Walter muttered to himself, apparently annoyed by Erik's resilience. "No matter, he'll break soon enough."

"So kid, you still in this?" Keith asked, a confident smirk on his face.

"You'd better believe it. First, I activate Spell Economics, allowing me to ignore any life-points cost I'd normally pay for spell cards. Like Premature burial. Now get ready to meet a brand new series of machines." A flashback briefly came to his mind after saying this.

(flashback)

It was in the summer just a month before starting his second year at Duel Academy. Erik's mother had been living away from her husband for some time now, Erik himself choosing to stay with her without a second thought. They lived in a very decent apartment, easily supported by Eleanor's job, and were well off in general. At the moment, Erik himself was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue short, chilling out in front of the TV, a GameCube hooked up and running. His mother was out working late, so in the meantime, he was playing Megaman X4.

Playing as Zero, he had entered into the volcano stage and had reached the last room, where the boss was. The little, blond haired, red and white reploid stood face to face with the dragon like lava robot, until the game got into action. Erik was intently staring at the screen while his hands gripped the console remote. After a few minutes of play, despite being able to dish out some damage, the boss had only a sliver left in his health bar. Just as he was about to have his character finish him off, Erik was interrupted by someone putting their hands over his eyes and loudly saying in his ear "How it going!"

"Jesus!" he cried out, the remote flying from his hands in surprise. He was then released, which allowed him to see the perpetrator, who turned out to be a young woman of average height, with honey blond hair, and dressed in light summer clothes. Turning his attention to the screen a moment, he just had enough time to see his character get beaten. "Thanks a lot, Erika," he said to the woman, a certain amount of sarcasm entering his voice. "I was this close to beating Magma Dragoon and now I just lost my last life. It's entirely your fault."

The woman, apparently named Erika, merely laughed a little at this, sitting down on the couch beside him and playfully ruffling his short hair. "Loosen up, kid. You'll get another chance latter."

"Yeah, yeah. Oh, and on the subject of Megaman X, I made a few designs for what some of the mavericks would be as duel monster cards." He then reached out and grabbed a binder from a small table near the couch. Opening it up, he showed Erika picture of certain mavericks as duel monsters.

"Pretty cool. Funny thing, I've actually done a few designs myself."

"No kidding."

"I guess great minds think alike. Hey, I just had an idea. Why don't I give your designs and mine to Alister-"

"You mean your future husband?"

Erika blushed a little at this. "We're not quite there yet. Anyway, as I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted… I could give both our designs to Alister, and given that he works at Industrial Illusions, he could bring them before Pegasus and hopefully they could turn them into real duel monster cards."

"Nice idea. I guess I'll forgive you for making me lose my game this time."

(flashback end)

"New machines, heh?" Keith said, Erik's mind returning to the present.

"Yep. And it starts with Maverick Storm Owl." A bird robot appeared on the field, its body mostly red, with its torso green and talon feet. It wore a red beret, with shoulder pads of the same color, and its left arm was a cannon. (1800/1300)

"Cool. He brought out a maverick from the Megaman X series," Jeremy noted.

"As to its effect, when summoned, Storm Owl sends one of your monsters back to your hand." The owl machine blew a gust of air that forced Perfect Machine King off the field. "Then I play Star Blast, reducing a monster in my hand from level 7 to level 4, without paying a single point." "Meaning I don't need a sacrifice to summon my second maverick monster. Maverick Phoenix." The monster that appeared was a humanoid, black metal phoenix, with gold and red body armor, claws, a tail, wide wings, and flames about its head and shoulders. (2400/1850) "Now your monsters still get a boost, Phoenix gains 200 points for every maverick on the field." (2400-2800/1850) "Storm owl, attack Cyber Commander." The machine in question aimed its cannon arm and shot a laser, destroying the enemy monster. (2700-2600/2000) (2000-1900/1500) "Phoenix, attack Machine King." The phoenix covered its body in flames, then flew straight at the Machine King, blasting him to bits.

Keith: 2200-2000

(1900-1800/1500) "By the way, Phoenix can attack twice per turn." The named monster flew back around, destroying Keith's prototype.

Keith: 2000-1000

"Next I activate D.D. Designator. So I call out a card name, if you've got it in your hand, it's removed from play. If you don't, a random card from my hand is removed instead. So I'll take a wild guess here and say Perfect Machine King."

"Smart move," Zane commented. "Now Perfect Machine King is out of the game."

"I guess he's holding up pretty good," Chazz added.

"I'll end my turn by playing a card face-down."

"Alright then… I play Pot of Greed, then follow up with Ancient Rules, allowing me to summon a level five or higher normal monster from my hand. And I've got just the one. Slot Machine." A large yellow slot machine with two big legs, a large cannon arm and a lever on the other side. (2000/2300) "Then I equip it with two copies of Seven Completed, giving Slot Machine 700 more attack points for each one." The lever arm went down, at which the right and left slot on the machine's face spun around, stopping at '7'. (2000-3400/2300) "It's over. Attack his Storm Owl with Plasma Laser Cannon." The jacked up machine raised its cannon and started to charge up a shot.

"I activate shift, forcing you to attack phoenix instead." Slot Machine changed its aim, then released its shot, blowing away Maverick Phoenix instead of Storm Owl.

Erik: 1450-850

"Bah. I end my turn."

"Whew, that was another close save," Jaden commented.

"You said it, Jay," Jeremy agreed.

"I play Card of Demise, allowing me to draw until I have five cards. Then I'll switch Storm Owl to defense mode and summon Maverick Axel in defense as well." The metal own kneeled down as a human shaped figure appeared kneeling as well. It was mostly green and plant like, with thorny vines wrapped around its arms, and large red rose petals around its wrists and on top of its head. (1700/1300) "When summoned, Axel lets me steal a card from your hand." Axel stretched out one of its vines, snatching a card from Keith's hand and giving it to Erik. "I'll end my turn with another face-down."

"I summon Mechanicalchaser," Keith announced just after drawing his card. A round machine, mostly green and gray, with six arms, each holding a weapon, one eye and a pair of wings appeared next to the Slot Machine. (1850/800) "Get em."

"Go, Negate Attack."

"Grr…" Keith growled, annoyed by this turn of events. "I end my turn."

"I summon Maverick Wolfang." An icy blue wolf machine monster appeared on the field, standing in an aggressive position on all fours. (1900/1200) "First off, I activate his special ability." The icy mechanical wolf howled, sending out a wave of frost which enveloped Slot Machine, completely surrounding and immobilizing it.

"He's turned Keith's monster into a block of ice," Chazz noted.

"Not only that, but it can't change battle modes of attack until my next turn," Erik explained. "Now I'll have him attack you Mechanical Chaser. Sic em." Howling loudly, Wolfang crouched, then leapt at its target, tearing it apart with its claws.

Keith: 1000-950

"It's your turn."

"Okay, fun time's over. I play Offerings to the Doomed. And by giving up my next draw phase, I'll destroy your wolf." Erik's icy wolf robot suddenly exploded. 'Since I've got Fairy Meteor Crush in my hand, I'll be able to run down his life-points next turn, as soon as my Slot Machine's free.' "I'll turn things over to you. But I doubt this duel's gonna last much longer."

"Good," Walter spoke up. "Are you ready to come home with me?"

"You wish," Erik shot back, drawing his card. "You know what, Keith? You're right, this duel isn't going to last much longer."

"Sounds like he just got something good," Syrus noted.

"Let's hope," Eleanor added.

"Now… I play the ritual spell, Volcanic Summoning. By sacrificing Axel and Storm Owl, which add up to eight stars worth, I can summon Magma Fighter – Dragoon." The dragon like maverick monster from the poster that had been in the game shop before appeared in place of Erik's two previous monsters, standing on two feet, ready to fight. (3000/2500) "Next I'll play the card I got from you, Necromancy. So four random monsters in your grave get summoned to your field in defense mode." Mechanical Chase, Machine King Prototype, Machine King and Perfect Machine King rose around the Slot Machine, all in defensive positions. (1850/800) (1600-2100/1500) (2200-2800/2000) (2700-5200/1500)

"Thanks for the help, you've just given me back the toughest monsters in my deck."

"Don't thank me yet. Because during the battle phase, Dragoon gains 500 attack points for each and every monster you control. And with five, that's a total of 2500 extra attack points." Dragoon ignited its knuckles, gaining a large boost in power. (3000-5500)

"Ahhh nuts," Keith said.

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" Walter cried out. "You were supposed to win!"

"Ah well, sucks for you. But at least I got paid anyway."

"Now, Magma Dragoon… hit that Slot Machine with Blazing Fist Attack and end this duel!" The now strongest monster on the field jumped into the air, connecting a downward punch on the Slot Machine hard enough to blow it apart in an impressive explosion.

Keith: 950-0

"It's over. And there's no bonus lives in this game."

"Marvelous!" Crowler said, clapping his hands.

"Yes, well done," Banner added.

"Thank you for coming, gentlemen," Sheppard spoke up, addressing Walter, then Keith. "Now if you'd please be so kind as to show yourselves out?"

"Fine then!" Walter spat out, him, his bodyguards and Bandit Keith walking out of the arena.

"Good job," Sheppard congratulated the victorious duelist.

"I knew you'd win," Eleanor said, a warm smile on her face.

"We're just glad you're here to stay," Jaden pitched in.

"Yeah… what they said," Chazz added.

"Thanks everyone… I'll be happy to stick around here."

* * *

So, thank you for reading this, sorry for how ridiculously long this took, hope it was worth the wait.

**Another very important thing, thank you very, very, very, very, very much to RoyalShowstopperXIII for the use of the Maverick cards. **(Erika is their oc by the way).

**Next chapter:** Whoever said women aren't tough, clearly never met this amazon.


	46. Amazon on the Loose Part 1

Disclaimer: I you believe that I own Yugioh GX, then no offense, but there's something wrong with you.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack**  
**

**Amazon on the Loose - Part 1  
**

At Academy Island, Bastion Misawa was standing on a high up cliff, staring out at the sea as the rising morning sun was shining brightly. After doing a few stretches, he resumed his gazing out into the horizon, thinking about past events as he did. 'Ever since that duel with Camula, things have been eerily quiet. Too quiet if you ask me… When the next shadow rider arrives, it could be my turn to duel.' He then interrupted himself for a moment, taking out his spirit key and staring at it with a solemn expression for a moment. 'And with already three spirit gates opened, it's more important than ever that I be prepared.'

"Fortunately," he said to himself, putting away his spirit key and taking out one of his six decks from his jacket, going over the cards in it. Then to his surprise, he came upon 'White Magician Pikeru.' "Where on earth did this card come from?" he wondered. "… Silly distraction," he said after a moment's pondering. "Well, nothing distracts me. Anyway, I think I'll head over to the Slifer dorm to wake up a few specific students."

* * *

Despite the relatively early hour, Jeremy was, strangely enough, not sleeping like his friends were. At the moment, he was outside the Slifer dorm, dressed in a light white t-shirt, with loose pants and was also barefoot. As it happened, he had chosen to do some martial arts training on this particular morning, going through a few sets of exercises. After doing this for some time, Lyna just so happened to come by and walked over to him. The two of them chatted for a bit, before the now Ra girl asked if he would mind if she joined him. Though somewhat surprised at this, Jeremy accepted nonetheless. "Hey Lyna," Jeremy spoke up after they'd finished doing some moves and such. "I don't suppose you'd care to take me on in a friendly sparring match?"

"Sure, I don't see why not. But I warn you, I'm no pushover, so don't go easy on me just cause I'm a girl."

"I wouldn't dream of it. But I'll have you know I'm pretty good myself," he replied with a confident grin.

The two of them then began their match, taking things slowly, attempting to gage the other's strength and talent. Things took a boost when Jeremy did a feint and threw out a light punch, which Lyna blocked with relative ease. She then went to retaliate with a strike of her own, but Jeremy was quick enough to block it as well. It went on like this for a moment, until the Slifer boy managed to get close and stuck out his leg, pushing forward with an arm and throwing her to the ground, though not with excessive force. "Looks like you win this round," Lyna said as she got to her feet.

Jeremy was about to answer, when he felt a hand clap him on the shoulder from behind. Unfortunately for them, Jeremy spun around and slammed the palm of his hand into the person's stomach, then grabbed their arm and flipped them over. "… oops, sorry Bastion," the blond boy said upon taking in his fellow student's appearance. "It was just a reflex," he added, smiling sheepishly and extending a hand to help him get up.

"… I suppose I can understand that," the Ra boy said as he gripped Jeremy's hand to get up. "I'll remember not to sneak up on you like that next time."

"So, what're you doing round here?" Lyna asked, after calming down from laughing at the situation.

"Well, I was just heading over to wake Jeremy and the others up for some dueling exercises. You two care to join in on this?"

"Sure, why not?" Lyna said.

"I guess it can't hurt," the blond boy answered. "Just give me a few minutes to change."

The three of them then went into the room where Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were still snoring away peacefully, with Jeremy going back out after picking up his usual day clothing to change in. Lyna watched with an amused smile as Bastion pulled out and activated his duel disk, setting a Barrel Dragon card on it, the holographic image of that specific monster appearing in front of the two Ra students. "Alright. Ready…" Bastion said, both of them putting their hands over their ears. "Get set… and fire!" Barrel Dragon then fired off a shot from each of its cannons, which was more than loud enough to wake up the three Slifers. "Hit the snooze button," Chumley complained.

"More like the snooze trigger," Syrus added.

"That's getting up with a bang," Jaden said, having fallen onto the floor. Laughter from the two Ra students caused them to look in their direction. "Bastion, Lyna?"

"Good morning sleepyheads," Lyna spoke up, a beaming smile on her face.

"Yeah… it was good until a second ago," Syrus mumbled.

"Anyway, now that were all awake, how about some good old fashioned daybreak dueling exercises?" Bastion suggested.

"Sure… whatever," Jaden said.

"Hey, where's Jeremy?" Chumley asked.

"Right here," the boy in question spoke up as he came into the room, now wearing his usual everyday clothes and Slifer Red jacket. "Don't worry, we're all going to suffer through this together."

* * *

"One, two, draw! One, two, draw! One, two, draw! One, two, draw!" Bastion was now standing outside over around at the cliff he'd been at earlier, with Jeremy, Lyna, Syrus, Jaden and Chumley standing opposite him. All of them had their duel disk on and decks at the ready, repeating the same motions, following Bastion's example.

"Wasn't this worth getting up for?" Jaden asked, sarcasm obvious in his voice.

"Next time someone sneaks up on me, I'll try not to react at all," Jeremy said. "Especially if that person is Bastion."

"Huh? What'd you do?" Chumley asked.

"Nothing much, apart from hitting Bastion in the stomach and flipping him over his head," Lyna explained, smirking at the blond boy's expression.

"You really did that?" Jaden asked, laughing a little at hearing this.

"Well… I was kind of in martial arts mode, and Bastion clapped me on the shoulder, and I kind of reacted out of reflex…"

"Quiet, you'll make me lose count," Syrus spoke up.

"Is that Thunder Nyan Nyan?" Chumley asked his short friend upon catching a glance at a particular card, with the image of a red headed young woman wearing tiger skinned clothes, sitting at a set of drums.

"Yeah it is. I got her a while ago. I kind of have a bit of a card crush on her."

"Card crush… that's so lame, at least for that card. Check out mine." Chumley held out a copy of Dian Keto the Curemaster."

"Yeah… she's… real pretty Chum," Syrus said, though obviously not convinced.

"Totally reminds me of my girlfriend back home. Her name's Sally… no wait, Adrianna."

"Hey, do you guys have any card crushes hidden away in your decks?" Syrus asked.

"You'd better believe it," the brunette Slifer answered. "They bring loads of luck."

"I used to have one or two a few years back," Jeremy said.

"Well… I kind of have a bit of a thing for Chris Angel," she admitted.

"Beg your pardon!" Bastion spoke up indignantly. "But I thought we were training here! And training gentlemen… and lady, does not comprise of standing around and talking about birds!"

"Did he say birds?" Syrus asked Chumley.

"You know what? I think that Bastion doesn't have a card crush."

"A crush on a card? Of course not! That's just plain irrational, illogical, unreasonable and ridiculous!" A slight blush came to his cheeks as he thought about the White Magician Pikeru card.

"Really? Then why are you blushing right now?" Lyna asked, teasing her fellow Ra.

"I'm not… Let's just get back to our dueling exercises… alright?"

"Sure, but I do have plans to play solitaire with Thunder Nyan Nyan in about 15 minutes," Syrus said.

"WHAT!" Bastion shouted, shocking Syrus and Chumley into falling down. "You'll be breaking that date, and soon breaking a sweat. Now… back to our duel training."

"And into the dog house for me," Syrus moaned. "She hates it when I cancel on her."

"Somehow, I think she'll understand," Jaden said.

"You think?"

"Of course," Lyna reassured the diminutive Slifer. "Chris hardly ever complains when our plans go out the window."

* * *

Later in the day, the band of Slifers, and Ra's were now sitting in Banner's class. Syrus, Chumley, Jaden and Jeremy were sitting together, all four of them with their heads down and snoring away, while Bastion was by himself, and Lyna was sitting with Christine. "Hey, Lyna," Christine spoke up. "Jeremy told me you have a duel spirit? Is it true?"

"_Yes __it __is,_" the duel spirit in question said as it appeared. "_Right __here, __at __your __service._"

"Yeah, Chris Angel's his name," the Ra girl answered.

"I thought I'd seen something during your promotion duel."

"Does this mean you've got your own?"

"Yeah, Dark Valkyria," she said, just as her duel spirit made its own appearance. "I call her Debbie."

"_Well, __aren__'__t __you__ a __handsome __one?_" the feminine spirit spoke to Chris Angel in a flirtatious tone. "_I __like __your__ look.__Very__… __mysterious._"

"_You__'__re __pretty __good __looking __yourself,_" Lyna's duel spirit said back, a similar flirtatious tone in his voice.

"Well… this is a new development," Lyna commented.

"Yeah, didn't know you were such a flirt, Debbie," Christine noted.

"_Well,__unless __you__'__d__ rather __I__ go __after __your __boyfriend__…_" The blue haired girl stared blankly at Dark Valkyria, an unimpressed expression on her face. "Just kidding." The two spirits laughed at this as they faded away.

"There certainly are a lot of absences today," Professor Banner spoke up at the front of the class. "Hmm… must be a bug going around."

'None that I've heard of,' Bastion thought to himself. 'There's definitely something strange in the air. Well… besides all of that snoring.'

"May I help you?" Banner said when he saw a young woman walking through the door behind him.

"Well… do you recognize this bag?" she asked, showing him a blue gym bag she was carrying.

"Yes, it belongs to one of my students. Why?"

* * *

After the particular piece of news had come in, Banner had set out into the woods, along with Jaden, Jeremy, Syrus, Chumley, Chazz, Bastion, Lyna, Christine and Alexis. "I wonder why that pack was left all the way out here," Jaden wondered.

"Indeed," Bastion agreed. "And where its owner is."

"Maybe it has something to do with the next shadow rider?" Lyna suggested.

"Unfortunately, that might be the case," Alexis said.

"My, my… I hope that no one is hurt," Banner worried.

The group of ten continued walking through the woods, calling out for people, but not actually receiving any answers. Not too long afterwards, they came to a large cleared out space, where they could see an awe inspiring coliseum standing before them, like out of the roman empire. "Where did this come from?" Jeremy asked no one in particular.

"I'm going in," Bastion said resolutely, starting to run towards it.

"Wait up," Syrus moaned.

"Awww, running," Chumley complained as they followed the Ra boy. A moment later, they came into the center of the arena, from where they could see a horde of students in red, yellow and blue jackets at work lifting rocks, putting them in place and doing other such things.

"That guy's from class," Syrus pointed out to one of the working students.

"Yeah, and so it she," Chumley added.

"CROWLER!" Chazz exclaimed, his eyes bugging out at the sight of the Obelisk Blue headmaster trying to move a heavy block with a crowbar. "What're you doing here?"

"A man's work," he answered.

"A man's work?" Banner wondered. "My, they must have been running very short on men." Jeremy, Syrus and Chumley burst out laughing at the professor's joke, that is, until Jaden brought their attention towards a huge, one eyed tiger coming into the center stage of the arena from the entrance opposite them. They all instantly started running away screaming as the tiger roared and came after them. As quick as any of them had ever done anything, they climbed up a large pillar out of the tiger's reach, clinging for dear life. "First a coliseum, then a tiger, what's next, a gladiator?"

"Actually, I think she prefers the term Amazon," Crowler spoke up.

"Amazon?" they all wondered.

"That's right." The group of students, and Banner, looked at the direction the voice had come from, seeing a very well muscled woman dressed in a short green shirt, black pants, with long red hair in a ponytail behind her back. She also had golden bracelets and a golden collar around her neck, and wore a large, bladed duel disk on her arm. "And thanks to your friends, I've been able to finally finish my glorious arena."

"Arena for what?"

The Amazon woman then jumped off the spectator seats and landed in the ring of the arena. "Dueling, of course," she answered. The formerly missing students and Crowler then all lined up before her, as she held out a set of envelopes. "Job well done. I had no idea that Duel Academy students could make such fine laborers. As promised, here's your payment," she said as she started passing out the envelopes to them. "Some rare cards, well deserved, I might add. Until next time."

"Umm, lady?" Jeremy spoke up. "Don't mean to be rude, but can you tell your tiger to GET LOST!" Fortunately for all of them, she called out to that particular animal, which walked away from the pillar and returned to its mistress, allowing for them to get down on the ground again.

"Do you mind telling us what's going on here?" Jaden asked.

"What does it look like?" she shot back. "I'm setting the stage, key-keeper, for your defeat. I'm one of the seven shadow riders."

"A shadow rider? Oh man…" Syrus moaned.

"You mean, oh wo-man," Chumley corrected. "Amazons are a warrior race, of all females."

"Wow, you go girl," Alexis said.

"The name is Tania," she Amazon woman introduced herself. "And now that the battle stage is set, it's time that we battle. Now then, which of you big strong men will it be? After all, I would never harm a sister."

"Hey, don't do me any favors," Alexis said indignantly.

"Apart from having that tiger chase us, this one doesn't seem so bad," Lyna commented.

"Don't let her fool you," Christine warned the Ra girl.

"So, which of males will it be? Who's my man?"

"Right here!" Jaden said.

"Yours truly!" Chazz stepped in.

"Bring it!" Jeremy pitched in.

"I'll take you!" Bastion said.

"If this is really the best you have to offer… then I suppose I'll pick… you," she pointed to Bastion.

"Well, can't duel em all," Jaden said as they walked back to the rest of the gang.

Bastion and Tania then walked over to the middle of the arena's field, while the tiger moved away and the gang went to sit in the stands. "What is your name?" Tania asked.

"Bastion… Bastion Misawa."

"Alright pal, go and get er!" Jaden said.

"And don't go easy on her cause she's a girl," Syrus added.

"Not like any I've seen," Chumley muttered.

"Let's do this," Bastion declared. "The only question is… which deck will I choose?" He then opened up his Ra jacket, revealing the six deck cases.

"Really? I have the same problem as well," Tania said, holding up a deck in each hand. "I have two decks. One is of knowledge, the other, of courage. Why don't you go ahead and decide which one I use?"

"Fine then. I'll pick the deck of knowledge."

"Nice choice," Tania said as she inserted one of her decks into her duel disk.

"Thank you, but it's not nearly as nice as the choice that I am making for myself." Bastion then pulled out one of his own decks, inserting it into his duel disk and closing up his jacket. "I select my earth deck."

"Then let us begin. And don't worry, this isn't a shadow game."

"I'm sorry?" Bastion spoke up, clearly confused.

"You heard me, Bastion. I don't want your soul, I want you, big boy." Bastion almost fell flat on the ground in surprise at her words. "You see, my tribe's all women, so to marry, I have to shop around."

"MARRY!"

"That's right hun, now let's do this!"

"Duel!"

Tania: 4000

Bastion 4000

"Well… the stakes were pretty unexpected," Jeremy commented as the two duelists started up their disks and drew their starting hands.

"It's a good thing you're not in his place," Christine said, a dangerous tone in her voice.

Jeremy gulped nervously upon hearing this. "Yes… very good thing."

"Alright then, it's my turn," Tania declared, drawing a sixth card. "And first… I summon the Amazoness Swords Woman in attack mode." A muscular woman with wavy fire red hair, a blue shirt, a fur skirt and more fur clothing at her arms and legs appeared on the field, wielding an impressive curved sword. (1500/1600) "I'll end my turn by placing one card face-down."

"I'm up," Bastion announced. "And I summon to the field, Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus." A humanoid shaped monster with a strange head and decked out in tough orange armor speared in a flash of electricity. It had a pole in one hand, while the other held a shield with a plus symbol. (1800/1500) "Now, Magnet Warrior, attack that Amazoness. Lode Stone Baton Bash." The two monster charged at one another, with Bastion's slamming his weapon into the female warrior's gut.

Bastion: 4000-3700

"Hey, why'd Bastion lose life-points?" Syrus wondered.

"Because of my Amazoness' special ability. Tania answered. "Her opponent takes all battle damage that was dealt."

"He walked right into that one," Chumley noted.

"Yeah, that's not like Bastion," Alexis commented.

"Nuh uh, it's just like Bastion," Jaden spoke up. "Sure, he may have fewer life-points, but she has fewer monsters. Smart move."

"Until I play my face-down card," Tania said with a smirk. "Pride of Tribe. This trap activates when an Amazoness is destroyed and sent to the graveyard. Now I can summon another one from my deck." A second Swords Woman then appeared in place of the first. (1500/1600) "So tell me, who's the smart one now?"

Bastion frowned at this. "I'll play a card face-down, and that will suffice."

"Oh my! That will suffice?" Tania spoke up with dreamy eyes. "Say it again, it sounded so cool!"

"You know, guys, I'm thinking that it's been a couple of years since Tania's interacted with a guy," Syrus commented.

"Couple of years?" Jaden said doubtfully. "Try decades. This lady is man crazy."

"I'm quite flattered," Bastion said. "But I'm well aware of what you're trying to do. You're trying to distract me. And I can tell you right now, it's not going to work, I'm too focused"

"Are you now? We'll see about that. I summon the Amazoness Blowpiper." A woman with long blue hair and holding a blowpipe with a small skull at the end rose beside her ally. (800/1500)

"And I play my face-down," Bastion interrupted. "Magnet Force Minus." A flash of red electrical energy shot out from the trap and enveloped Tania's new monster. "When this is activated, it can equip onto one monster, then that monster gains a negative magnetism, and becomes what's known as a minus monster. And from there, it get's interesting. You see, two monsters of the same charge, well, they're not allowed to engage in battle with each other. But… a minus and a plus, if they're out, they must fight."

"So, since Amazoness Blowpiper is a minus monster…"

"And my magnet warrior is a plus monster… it's on!" Sparks flew between the two opposite charge monsters. "You've heard that old quote 'opposites attract.' Well I'm afraid it's true."

"I know it. After all, just look at the two of us."

"Oh, stop it!" Bastion said, annoyed.

"Stop it, why don't I just stop you from winning this battle instead. Go, Amazoness Spellcaster! Now, one Amazoness and one monster you control switch their original attack points with each other." The Amazoness stood a little higher and she increased in strength, while Bastion's magnet warrior dropped down as he lost power. (800-1800/1500) (1800-800/1500)

"This is bad!" Syrus moaned.

"No joke it's bad," Banner butt in. "Now Bastion's monster is outmatched."

"Amazoness Blowpiper, attack!" The named monster blew into her pipe, shooting out a dart which flew across the field and struck Sigma plus in the chest area, blowing it away.

Bastion: 3700-2700

"And now, Amazoness Swords Woman will attack you directly. Go, Amazon Slash Attack." The sword wielding woman jumped into the air and came down swinging her blade at Bastion.

Bastion: 2700-1200

"But how?" Bastion wondered out loud. "That's the second time she's been able to outsmart me."

"I guess we know where our kids are going to get their smarts from."

"WHAT! OUR KIDS! We are enemies, rivals!"

"During this duel we are, but afterwards, we'll be betrothed to each other. Just think about it, you'll be Mr. Tania the Amazon woman."

"You're relentless," Bastion sighed. "Truly, are you that smitten with me?"

"I prefer in love…"

"You hardly know me!"

"I know enough… my little sugar booger."

'Keep your cool, Bastion,' the Ra boy angrily thought to himself. 'She's just trying to distract you. Like those silly card crushed distract Syrus, Chumley and Lyna. But you've always been above all that.' An image of White Magician Pikeru came to his mind, at which he gripped his head with both hands. "NO! Get out! I'm above all this!"

The gang all sweat dropped at because of seeing his odd behavior. "Bastion sure is acting weird," Jaden noted.

"Love works in mysterious ways," Syrus added.

"QUIET!" he shouted. "I'm not in love!" 'And I'll prove it, by taking Tania down.' "My turn… First, I activate Pot of Greed. Good," Bastion said as he saw his two new cards. "Now I sacrifice three different magnet warriors from my hand, to summon the ultimate magnet warrior."

"Ooo, he's got something good coming up," Jeremy said with anticipation.

"I send to the graveyard, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, in order to summon Valkyrion, the Magna Warrior." Three monsters appeared on the field. One was a yellow, small, round, and had magnets for hands and another around his head. The second was pink, larger, with a narrow head, wings, and an 'S' on its chest. The third one looked more human shaped, was mostly gray, with a magnet hilt sword and a shield that had a magnet emblem. Just after their appearance, the three magnet warriors disassembled, and their pieces jumbled around each other until forming an imposing new monster, similar to the others. This one had a body like Alpha's, Gamma's wings, except bigger, a head like Beta's, though it was slimmer and had a visor, and it also carried a wide sword in one hand. (3500/3850) "And that's not all. I play the spell Forbidden Chalice on your Swords Woman. This may give her 400 more attack points, but her effect is negated." (1500-1900/1600)

"Alright! You go get er!" Lyna cheered for her fellow Ra.

"Valkyrion, attack her Amazoness Swords Woman, with Sky Sword Flash!" Bastion's powerhouse monster flew into the air and dive down at the named Amazoness, slicing her apart with a single strike of his sword blazing with electrical energy.

Tania: 4000-2400

"Way to go!" Jaden cheered.

"Nice going!" Christine added.

"He took out almost half her life-points with just one attack!" Chazz noted.

"Now then, I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn," Bastion announced.

"You're finally showing that your worthy of being my husband," Tania said. She then drew a card and turned her attention towards her Amazoness Blowpiper. "First, during each of my standby phases, Amazoness Blowpiper allows me to select one of your monsters, and take away 500 of its attack points." The Amazoness loaded a dart into her pipe and blew it away. And although it only pinged off Valkyrion's body, it still left a scratch. (3500-3000/3850)

"What's the point of that?" Syrus asked. "Bastion's monster still has way more attack points."

"You'll see soon enough. Now I activate Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until we have six cards. Think of it as an early wedding gift." Bastion's face ticked as they both drew. "Next up, I play Spell Reproduction. So I discard two spell cards to take back one from my grave. And since I discarded two copies of Repayment of Losses, I can draw two more cards. "Next up, I summon Amazoness Chain Master." A woman dressed in blue, with silver hair and wielding a chain with a spiked tip rose on the field. (1500/1300) "And just like last time, I activate Amazoness Spellcaster, switching Blowpiper's attack points, with those of your monster." (800-3500/1500) (3000-300/3850) "Now, Amazoness Blowpiper, attack his Valkyrion and finish him."

"Not so fast!" Bastion interrupted. "I activate my face-down, Magnet Force Redirection. Thanks to this, when I have a monster on the field with 'Magnet' in its name, I can negate one of your attacks."

"Alright, then Chain Master will destroy him instead."

"I play my second face-down, Enchanted Javelin, allowing me to gain life-points equal to the attack points of your monster."

Bastion: 1200-2700

Tania's monster then whipped out her chain, effectively destroying Valkyrion.

Bastion: 2700-1500

"Fine then," Tania pouted. "I guess I'll just have to end my turn with a face-down." (3500-800/1500)

"That was a close one," Chumley commented.

"Too close for my taste," Bastion said. "Alright… I play Magnet Conductor Plus, which allows me to take a plus monster from my graveyard and add it into my hand. And I choose Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus. But he won't be there for long, because I'm discarding him and Magnet Warrior Omega Minus in order to summon Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum Plus Minus." An impressive yellow and purple armored monolith appeared on Bastion's field, with a cannon on each shoulder. (2700/1300) "And now I'll activate Warrior Magnum Plus Minus' special ability. It adds half the attack points of one Plus or Minus monster on the field to his own attack points." The still lingering electricity around Tania's blowpiper sparked to life, giving Bastion's monster more power. (2700-3100/1300)

"He's got her outmatched now," Jaden noted.

"Now, Warrior Magnum, attack Amazoness Blowpiper, with Polarizing Pulverizing Blast!" The Powerhouse monster charged up its cannons and fired off a blast of energy, blowing away Tania's monster and most of her life-points.

Tania: 2400-100

"Next I'll place two more cards face-down. And-"

"Before your turn ends, I activate my trap, Amazoness Shamanism. With this, I destroy all my face-up Amazoness monsters, and summon as many level 4 or lower Amazoness from my graveyard as the number of monsters destroyed by this effect. So I'll bid goodbye to Chain Master, and welcome back my Swords Woman." Tania's monster disappeared, and was replaced by the familiar sword wielding woman. (1500/1600)

"I end my turn." (3100-2700/1300)

"What a move, sweetie, no wonder I love you. And because I do, I have to win. And with Swords Woman's special ability, where you take all the damage when she battles, I will win. First, I play my own Pot of Greed. Then I use Rush Recklessly to give your monster 700 more attack points." (2700-3400/1300) "Now attack his Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum Plus Minus." The Amazoness monster dashed forward, sword at the ready.

"Sorry, but I play a face-down," Bastion declared. "Power Off. Now Warrior Magnum Plus Minus splits back into the two monsters that originated him."

"No fair!" Tania protested, as her swordswoman swung her sword, only to miss as her target split apart, into Sigma Plus and Omega Minus, a similar magnet monster, except that it was a dark bluish color, and was wielding a sword and square shield. (1800/1500) (1900/600)

"Tight move!" Jaden commented.

"Yes, I agree," Bastion replied.

"Guess I'll just have to get you next turn," Tania said. "And with Amazoness Paladin, you can be sure I will." A woman wearing a light brown, sleeveless battle dress appeared next to her ally. She had blond hair, a short hooded cape, and held a straight edge sword. (1700/300) "Because my Paladin… she gains an extra 100 attack points for every card on my field with Amazoness in its name, herself included." (1700-1900/300) "Next, I place two cards face-down. And that'll do for now."

'Well… at least she's concentrating on the duel instead of on me,' Bastion thought to himself. "Alright, it's my move now."

"Speaking of move, sweetie…" Tania spoke up. "I think… it's probably best that you move in with me. You know, after we get married? We'll just have the coziest home sweet home." Bastion had a stunned expression on his face at this. "I'm sorry honey. Am I distracting you again with this talk about how much I love you? And how positively handsome you are? Oh, there I go again." The Ra boy held a hand over his heart as he blushed. "I guess I just can't help myself. I'm head over heels."

"Yes… me too... Tania."

"Yuck. Are there barf bags on this flight?" Jaden asked no one in particular.

"This is just… bleh!" Jeremy pitched in.

"Aww man, Bastion's getting all flushed… and all sidetracked," Syrus noted.

"Come on Bastion!" Lyna cheered. "You can do this, just get your head in the game."

"Alright, my turn!" The Ra boy declared, drawing his card. "First off, I summon Magnet Warrior Sigma Minus in attack mode." A robotic like monster appeared on the field, with green arms and legs, its main body blue and beige, and carrying a spiked club in one hand. (1500/1800) "Next, I'll play my face-down, 100000 Gauss. You see, I can activate this when I have a plus monster and a minus monster out on my field. It lets me switch one of your monsters into attack mode, and reduce its attack points by 800. But since your Paladin is already in attack mode, I'll just go ahead and drain her points." (1900-1100/300)

"Alright, that's sweet!" Jaden commented. "Now Bastion's got the monsters and the match up he needs. This duel is totally in the bag."

"I would think so too," Tania spoke up. "Except that I have this card out, Dramatic Rescue. When one of my Amazoness monsters is targeted by an effect, this lets me return it to my hand, and summon a different one in its place. And as you're about to see, this one is very different indeed. Come out, Amazoness Tiger." A perfect copy of Tania's pet tiger appeared in front of her. (1100/1500) "And don't try catching this tiger by the toe, because she gains 400 attack points for each Amazoness out on the field." (1100-1900/1500)

"So not lishus," Chumley said.

"And, when this card's on my field, you're not allowed to attack any other Amazoness monsters but it."

"So… there's no choice?" Alexis wondered. "He has to attack that tiger?"

"It looks like it," Christine pitched in.

'It's simple,' Bastion thought to himself. 'I have three magnet warriors out. I'll use Omega Minus to eliminate Amazoness Tiger. Then, Sigma minus to destroy Amazoness Swords Woman. Then, I'll use Sigma Plus to attack Tania directly and win.' "This has been a fun duel, but I'm afraid it's about to be over! Go, Magnet Warrior Omega Minus. Attack and tame that Amazoness Tiger!"

"You must be distracted," Tania noted. "Otherwise you most certainly would have seen that I have a face-down card, Amazoness Archers. Sorry hun, but now all of your monsters are forced into attack mode and lose 600 attack points." (1800-1200/1500) (1900-1300/600) (1500-900/1800) "Also, they're all forced to wage battle, right this instant."

"But if they do that, they'll have to attack that tiger," Syrus pointed out.

"And that thing has more attack points than any of them," Jeremy added.

"He walked right into a trap," Chazz stated. "What was he thinking!"

"That's just it. With all that love talk, I doubt he was," Banner said.

The three magnet warriors then leapt into the air, coming towards the Amazon woman's tiger. "Now, Amazoness Tiger, show Bastion that opposites don't just attract, they attack. Sic em. Fang Frenzy." Then, with three lightning swipes, Bastion's monsters were all destroyed, exploding in a cloud of smoke.

Bastion: 1500-0

"I'm… all yours," Bastion said in a love struck voice as the holograms disappeared. He then fell to his knees, and collapsed on the ground, his spirit gate key fading away.

Upon seeing his defeat, the students and Banner came down to the main part of the arena, intent on checking up on the Ra boy. "Kitty…" Tania commanded, at which her real live tiger, advanced, immediately prompting them all to change direction and run towards the exit. Fortunately, just after they got outside, a gate came down behind them, preventing the tiger from chasing them further. But, after a moment, they took into account the fact that with it, Bastion was trapped inside and they couldn't help him. "Sorry guys, Bastion and I are officially on our honey moon now," Tania's voice mocked them. So get lost!"

"This isn't over!" Jaden yelled, hands gripping the gate bars. "You hear me!"

* * *

SO, as usual, hope you liked it and please review (unless you're going to be a total jerk, but that hardly ever happens). Anyway, with a bit of luck, I might have the next chapter done within a week, or two at most.

**Made up cards in this chapter:**

Magnet Force Redirection  
Normal Trap  
Effect: Activate only when you have a monster on your field with 'Magnet' in its name. You can negate an attack from one of your opponent's monsters.  
Image: Alpha the Magnet Warrior, kneeling with his shield held out and electricity crackling around him.

**Next chapter**: Bastion's in a slump because of Tania, and Jaden decides to snap him out of it.


	47. Amazon on the Loose Part 2

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH GX! UNDERSTAND? Of course you do.

Just so everyone knows, I will be putting this fic on hold for a while to work on my other stories, but rest assured, I'll be back before TOO LONG goes by.

On another note, I've decided to change how I display monster stats. I'll still show attack and defense, but, whatever battle mode the monster is currently in will be in bold.

Ex: Summon Clayman in defense. (800/**2000**)

Ex: Use H-Heated Heart on Sparkman in attack mode. (**1600-2100**/1400)

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Amazon on the Loose – Part 2**

The day of Bastion's having lost to Tania had finally gone by, giving way to the morning of the day after. Banner, along with the students who had been watching the duel, were sitting around a small campfire, the Ra student's cries of anguish reaching them throughout the night. "I hate hearing Bastion suffer like that and not being able to help," Alexis said with a sigh as she poked the fire with a stick.

"No joke," Chazz spoke up. "They've been dueling all night. And from those screams, it sounds like he's been losing all night."

"How long can this go on?" Banner wondered in despair.

"We've got to do something," Jaden declared, standing up.

"Hey, what is that?" Syrus piped up, looking over to the coliseum.

"Over there," Chumley pointed to the gate, which the others noted was starting to rise.

The others all stood up, waiting as the gate opened fully. A moment later, Bastion came walking through, though he looked rather gloomy and depressed. After clearing the arena exit, he collapsed to his knees, prompting his teacher and fellow students to run forward. "Hey, are you alright?" Jeremy asked.

"What happened?" Lyna wondered, concern on her face. "Did she… she dumped you, didn't she?"

"That's right," he answered in a downed tone of voice. "I'm crushed."

"You're not crushed, you're lucky," Chazz said.

"I don't understand," Banner spoke up, confused by this. "She was so smitten with you during the duel."

"I know, we were to be married… but she decided that I wasn't worthy… I wasn't good enough for her, and she left me forever. She said she wants a champion, a duelist who can give her a match she'll always remember."

* * *

Later in the day, Bastion was standing at a wide window in one of the main building's hallways, absentmindedly gazing at the view outside. 'Tania…' he thought to himself, sighing as he thought back to his duel against Tania.

(Flashback)

"There I go again!" Tania said happily, causing Bastion to stumble back and blush. "I guess I just can't help myself… I'm head over heels."

"Yes…" he replied, a love struck expression on his face. "Me too…"

(Flashback end)

"Ahh, Tania!" Bastion cried out as his mind returned to the present, holding his head in both hands.

Just around the corner, Jaden, Alexis, Jeremy and Christine were standing and watching their Ra yellow friend with concern. "He's still going nuts cause of that Amazon?" Jaden wondered.

"I had no idea Bastion had fallen that hard," Alexis commented.

"That's too bad," Jeremy said. "I never would've expected him of all people to lose it like this because of a girl."

"Well… I guess love really does work in mysterious ways," Christine muttered. "First she threw him off guard during the duel, then she ditches him, and now he's down in the dumps because of her."

* * *

Sometime later, Bastion happened to walk into the Obelisk dueling arena. He stopped in his tracks, seeing that Crowler, Banner, Zane, Erik, Christine, Alexis, Lyna, Chazz and the rest of the Slifer crew was there waiting for him. "What do the lot of you want?" he asked them.

"A duel," Jaden answered, holding up his deck. "To cheer you up."

"I can't," he said, a gloomed expression on his face. "It's too soon for me."

"Come on, Bastion," Lyna added in. "I know this kind of thing hurts, but don't you think it's time to move on now?"

"I can't duel… not without my Tania."

"Pff… from what I've heard about her, she's probably out dueling without you," Erik scoffed.

"No! She would never do something like that."

"Oh, gag me," Chazz complained.

"You don't understand," he protested. "We had passion!"

"Come again?" Jaden spoke up again, apparently confused by this.

"When I first dueled Tania, there were fireworks between us. You saw how our cards danced that dangerous duel monsters' dance together… it was beautiful, majestic. If I can't have that feeling again when I duel, well… it's over then. My life dueling, it's all finished."

"But Bastion, she's a shadow rider," Zane reminded him. "We have the world to save. Spirit Key or not, we still need you. And you're saying you're done?"

"Bastion, you can't give up that easily," Jeremy spoke up. "I mean, Christine and I still duel the same way as before we got together. And that otta prove that you don't need to be in love to love dueling."

"I'm sorry. As much as all of you require my deck, until I prove to Tania that I am a worthy man, my dueling days are through. Now… and forever."

"That's it, I'm gonna go to the bathroom and hurl," Chazz muttered.

"Just duel her again," Jaden said. "Go ahead and ask her for a rematch."

"A rematch?" Bastion asked, apparently confused.

"And don't take no for an answer! You're a tough guy. And I'll even be your wingman."

"Hmmmm…"

* * *

Back at the coliseum, the Amazon woman, Tania, was growling with anger, her pet tiger wisely staying at a distance from her. "This island has nothing but weaklings," she shouted, pounding on her chest. "I need a worthy partner. Someone who isn't intimidated by my power." She then turned towards a wall at her side, letting out her frustration and punching it hard, then jumped up and kicked a piece out of the ceiling, making her pet tiger whimper a little. "And if he can't find me, I'll find him… and duel him." The human and tiger then walked out, the room falling down behind them.

* * *

Later on, at the Slifer Red dorm, Syrus and Chumley were lying awake in bed, while Jaden was still dressed in his usual day clothes, with his red jacket, sitting at a desk and going over his cards. "Jaden, don't you want to go to bed?" Syrus asked.

"Not yet," he replied. "I'm working on a strategy to help out Bastion. Just call me cupid."

"Cupid, you?" Jeremy asked as he walked into the room, sitting down on his own bed. "That's a good one," he said sarcastically.

"Why thank you."

Jeremy was about to point out that his last statement had had a sarcastic intent, but was interrupted by Syrus. "Hey Jeremy, were you with Christine just before now?"

"What makes you say that?"

"The lipstick that's over your face," he shot back in a smart alec kind of tone.

"Ha ha, nice one, Sy," Chumley said, laughing at their friend's visible embarrassment. In retaliation, said 'friend' picked up his pillow and threw it straight at the koala duelist, catching him right in the face, before wiping off the lingering traces of lipstick with the sleeve of his jacket. The four of them turned their attention towards the door when the heard knocking.

"Jaden, open up, it's me," Bastion's voice spoke up, at which the brunette boy stood up and walked over to open the door.

"What're you doing here Bastion?" he asked, upon seeing the Ra student in question.

"The rematch… why aren't you ready yet?"

"You mean now?" he said in surprise.

* * *

"Couldn't this have waited until morning?" Jaden asked, as he, Jeremy and Bastion were running through the woods, with everyone else a ways behind them, coming up to the coliseum where they'd first seen Tania.

"NO! TANIA!"

"Wait up," Syrus moaned, as he and the others caught up with them.

"Thought you could use the extra help," Alexis spoke up.

"Wouldn't want to miss out on a duel like this one," Lyna added.

"Thanks everyone," Jaden replied.

All of them looked to the side when they heard a growling noise. "Tania…" Bastion said, seeing the amazon woman sitting atop her pet tiger.

"Can't you take a hint," Tania sighed. "I already dumped you, remember?"

"He wants a rematch," Jaden spoke up, stepping forward.

"He can't have one. But you seem quite brave."

"I do?" he asked, sweatdropping. "… But I'm here for my friend."

"He already lost," she reminded him. "So, either I duel you, or there's no duel at all."

"I never back down from a challenge," he answered. "I'll do it for Bastion."

"What?" Chazz exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh no…" Alexis muttered.

* * *

Soon after, Tania and Jaden were standing opposite each other in the middle of the coliseum, with everyone else watching from the sidelines. "You know the rules," Tania said as she held up her two decks for Jaden to see. "If you lose this duel, you lose your spirit key and single status. That means you move to this arena with me and become my husband forevermore."

"I sure hope Jaden knows what he's doing," Chazz said.

"I sure do," Jaden spoke up. "And when I'm done, Bastion will know that you don't have to be in love to duel with passion."

"Come on, Jay," Jeremy cheered. "Show her who's the boss!"

"Jeremy looks almost as exited about the duel as Jaden," Alexis noted.

"That's not surprising," Christine said back to her friend. "Personality wise, they are pretty alike."

"So, wadda you say we start this, hun?" Tania asked Jaden. Both of them then inserted their decks and started up their duel disks.

"Let's duel!"

Jaden: 4000

Tania: 4000

"Alright Tania, get your game on!" Jaden said, drawing five cards, and a sixth as well, signifying that he'd be going first. "I summon Elemental Hero Avian in defense mode." The green, winged hero appeared kneeling before Jaden. (1000/**1000**) "And that's it for now."

"That's your move?" Tania asked disbelievingly. "Well I have someone to clip your Avian's wings. I summon Amazoness Trainee." A young girl with silvery looking hair and dressed in a blue fur top and shorts appeared on the field, holding a chain in her hands with a spike at the end. (**1500**/1300) "And next, I activate the spell known as Amazoness Charm. This forces all the monsters on your field to attack mode and gives them an extra 200 more points." Blushing a little, Avian got up and stood straight. (**1000-1200**/1000)

"I don't get it," Crowler spoke up. "Why would she play a card that increases Jaden's attack power?"

"For the thrill of it," Bastion replied. "The passion."

"More like she just wants his monster in attack mode to do some early damage," Lyna pitched in.

"So, are we enjoying the match so far?" Tania asked Jaden. "I hope you're not getting distracted."

"Nothing distracts me from dueling," he answered. "Didn't you know?"

"Well… maybe this will make you reconsider, Amazoness Arena," Tania shot back, holding up a spell card that showed an amazoness woman raging inside a dome like cage. "When this card activates, we both gain 600 life-points. And it's not just distracting, it's captivating." A dome shaped cage rose up around the two duelists, shutting them away from their audience.

Jaden: 4000-4600

Tania: 4000-4600

"Wow, she must be really desperate to find a husband… if she's gotta use a cage," Chazz remarked.

Erik scoffed at the comment. "That's putting it mildly," he muttered.

"You see, Amazoness Arena is a sacred arena." Tania explained. "In here, you don't just fight with your monsters, but with your soul as well."

"And just how am I supposed to do that?" Jaden asked, obviously confused.

"You'll find out soon. But first, Amazoness Trainee attacks your Avian." The young amazon warrior spun her chain about over her head, before whipping it towards the green elemental hero, striking him in the chest with the pointed tip.

Jaden: 4600-4300

"Since Amazoness Trainee destroyed a monster in battle, it goes to the bottom of the deck, instead of the grave. Plus, she gains 200 attack points." (**1500-1700**/1300) "Now you'll see the power of my arena. After our monsters are all done, our souls can battle. If you give up a hundred life-points, you can take away a hundred of mine."

"Watch out Jaden," Alexis warned her Slifer friend.

"I guess I should warn you, I don't ever hit girls," Jaden said.

"And you shouldn't, but this isn't a fight between us," Tania replied. "But like I said before, our souls will clash."

"If you say so," Jaden said with a grin of anticipation, as their souls appeared out of their bodies, looking exactly like themselves, only transparent.

Jaden: 4300-4200

Tania: 4600-4500

Both of them then leapt forward, meeting in mid aid in the middle of the arena. Jaden threw a punch, only to miss and get hit by Tania's counterattack, falling back to the other end of the arena.

Jaden: 4200-4100

"Jaden!" Syrus cried out, worried.

"C'mon, this is embarrassing for all of us guys!" Chumley added.

"Yeah!" Jeremy agreed. "Show her that guys rock and girls are only…" The blond Slifer boy gulped and seemed as if he wanted to disappear upon taking notice of the looks sent his way by the girls sitting near him. "Ummm… just hit er back!" Jaden them jumped back up and punched her with his left hand.

Tania: 4500-4400

"That's not a bad left hook," Tania said with a grin. "Now come on, why don't you make your move."

"What the- She compliments his attack?" Chazz exclaimed in surprise.

"Isn't she great?" Bastion said in a love struck voice.

"Like that?" Jaden asked. "Then you're gonna love this. I summon Elemental Hero Ocean." A blue skinned warrior with a fin at the top of his head appeared, wearing bits of whitish armor and holding a two pronged trident in his hands. (**1500**/1200)

"Cool, a new hero monster," Jeremy noted.

"Still, he's not powerful enough to take on Tania's monster as is," Zane pointed out.

"That may be true, but I've got this to help him out, the equip spell card, Element Sword, so he gains 800 attack points when fighting a monster with a different attribute." A blade of glowing energy appeared in Ocean's hand. "Now go get er." (**1500-2300**/1200) Jaden's hero dashed forward, cutting down his enemy with both weapons.

Tania: 4400-3800

(**2300-1500**/1200) "And of course, now that arena of yours activates again."

Jaden: 4100-4000

Tania: 3800-3700

Jaden and Tania's souls came out again, leaping at each other, swing their fists until the amazoness woman hit Jaden, only for him to get her a split second later.

Jaden: 4000-3900

Tania: 3700-3600

"Now I'll end my turn with a face-down."

"Nice moves," Lyna commented. "Jaden may be down a few points, but he's still got the upper hand."

"I wouldn't celebrate quite yet," Alexis said cautiously.

"You're right to say that," Tania spoke up. "Because I play Monster Reborn, to resurrect Amazoness Trainee." The young amazoness girl returned to Tania's field. (**1500**/1300)

"Why would she bother to bring back a monster that's just going to lose as soon as it gets into a fight?" Christine wondered. "Unless…"

"Unless she's only a tribute," Tania answered. "I sacrifice my trainee to summon Amazoness Queen." A taller and more imposing woman took the previous monster's place. She was a woman with long blue hair, wearing sturdy garb similar to the other amazoness', had a crown on her head with a skull at the front, and was holding a wicked looking sword. (**2400**/1800) "And for good measure, I equip with her with Invigoration, giving her 400 more attack points, at the mere cost of 200 defense points." (**2400-2800**/1800-1600) "Now crush his monster!" Tania's warrior woman charged forward, powering up Jaden's hero… (**1500**-2300/1200) but overcoming him nonetheless.

Jaden: 3900-3400

"I activate Hero Signal, so I can summon Elemental Hero Woodsman." A green giant of a man kneeled down in front of Jaden, wearing brown shorts and boots, with his left arm and leg being made of wood. (1000/**2000**)

"He won't be able to protect you against my arena," Tania pointed out as their souls separated to do battle.

Jaden: 3400-3300

Tania: 3600-3500

They met in the middle of the arena again, Jaden connecting with an uppercut, only to have Tania hit him back with a roundhouse kick.

Jaden: 3300-3200

Tania: 3500-3400

"I end my turn. But you may want to step up your game, hun."

"I'll be glad to. First, during my standby phase, Woodsman allows me to add one Polymerization from deck or graveyard to my hand." Jaden plucked out a polymerization from his deck, then shuffled the rest back in. "But before I use it, I'll activate Monster Reincarnation, getting rid of one card, to get back Elemental Hero Ocean. Finally, I'll fuse him and Woodsman to summon the mighty… Elemental Hero Terra Firma." The two material monsters swirled about each other, melding to form a quite tall and muscular looking monster. The new hero was covered in tough white armor with blue gemstones on its shoulders and forehead, a ruby in the chest piece and spikes at its shoulders and waist. (**2500**/2000)

"Whoa, that is cool," Erik spoke up, sounding impressed.

"Did Jaden just summon one of the legendary planet monsters?" Lyna asked, slightly disbelieving.

"Legendary planet monster?" Chazz wondered. "What're you talking about?"

"She's talking about eight very powerful cards, each one named after a different planet," Zane explained. "And it looks like Jaden just played one of them."

"How could Jaden possibly have gotten his hands on that card?" Crowler asked.

"I don't know," Banner butt in. "But it's a good thing that he has it with him."

"Now, before you say anything about him not being strong enough to take on your queen, I'll bring back Elemental Hero Ocean with Monster Reborn." The water hero appeared again on Jaden's field. (**1500**/1200) "And the sweet part about Terra Firma, is that once per turn, I can sacrifice another elemental hero I control, and he gains its attack points for the rest of the turn." Ocean dispersed into bluish energy which was absorbed by the powerhouse hero. (**2500-4000**/2000) "Now go get er, Earth Impact!" Terra Firma raised both hands, glowing with a white aura, and slammed them into the ground, sending forth a powerful shockwave towards Amazoness Queen, who shouted out as she was hit.

Tania: 3400-2200

"And that's that," Jaden said.

"Not quite," Tania shot back. As she said this, everyone noticed that her monster was still there.

"Not lishus!"

"But she should've been destroyed!" Syrus squeaked.

"How…?" Jeremy asked.

"As long as my queen is out, any amazoness monsters I control can't be destroyed in battle. And don't you forget about my arena." Though Jaden also was surprised, he nevertheless leaped into action, his soul meeting Tania's, getting hit, but knocking her back in return.

Jaden: 3200-3000

Tania: 2200-2000

"Not bad, Jaden," Tania complimented the Slifer boy. "You're my type of guy."

"Uhh, Bastion?" Banner spoke up. "I think Tania may be falling for Jaden."

"Course not," he said confidently. "She would never leave me."

"Like she hasn't left you already," Chazz muttered under his breath.

"Well, there isn't much I can do except end my turn," Jaden said, his monsters attack dropping down to normal. (**4000-2500**/2000)

"Now I play Card of Sanctity, and of course we both gain from this gift by drawing until we have six cards each." Jaden and Tania drew until they had enough cards. "Then I summon Amazoness Blowpiper in attack mode." The named monster appeared beside her queen, weapon at the ready. (**800**/1500) "Amazoness Queen, attack." The queen ran forward, slicing through Jaden's mighty hero with one swing of her sword.

Jaden: 3000-2500

Then without saying a word, their souls leapt into action, trading blows until they each managed to land a hit.

Jaden: 2500-2300

Tania: 2000-1800

"Blowpiper, attack with Poison Dart." The weaker amazoness breathed in and spat into her pipe, shooting out a small dart that pinged off Jaden's duel disk, though not without taking away a few points.

Jaden: 2300-1500

"I end my turn with one card face-down."

"It's okay, Jaden's still in the lead," Jeremy pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's just lost his best monster, not to mention that he can't destroy Tania's monsters as long as that queen is on the field," Chazz pointed out.

"Doesn't mean he can't turn this around anyway," Lyna said. "After all, there's more than one way to skin a cat." Pharaoh meowed loudly at this. "No, I'm not talking about you, Pharaoh."

"Well, I hate to see Terra Firma go so soon, especially since it's the first time I've played him, but at least he's about to be avenged. I activate another Polymerization, fusing Sparkman with Clayman to summon the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." Jaden's two monsters jumped into the fusion vortex, coming out as the giant electric hero (**2400**/1500) "With his effect, upon being summoned, I can destroy one of your monsters with original attack points lower than his. So that's goodbye Blowpiper." Thunder Giant stuck out one hand, zapping Tania's blowpiper with a blast of electricity.

"Not bad, but you'll have to do better than that," Tania said.

"No problem. I equip him with Attribute Mastery. Now I declare one attribute, and whenever Thunder Giant battles with a monster of that attribute, it's automatically destroyed, no questions asked. And of course, I'll pick earth."

"Nice move, pretty much all amazoness monsters are earth attribute," Jeremy said.

"Next, with an Elemental Hero on the field, I can play Elemental Recovery. So by removing Polymerization from my graveyard, I can get pick up any spell card from my grave that I want, like Monster Reborn, which I'll play now." Elemental Hero Ocean rose once again from the graveyard. (**1500**/1300) "Thunder Giant, attack Amazoness Queen." The giant hero shot out a blast of lightning which defeated Amazoness Queen before she could even react. "Now Ocean attacks you directly." The water hero gripped his weapon, and was in the midst of running forward when he was interrupted.

"I reveal my face-down card, Amazoness Spirit. Thanks to this, when I'm about to take more than a thousand damage, I can remove from play all amazoness monsters from my graveyard that were destroyed this turn. Then, for each of my removed from play amazoness monsters, I gain 100 life-points, and you lose 500."

Tania: 1800-2000

Jaden: 1500-500

"And as a bonus, I don't take any battle damage for the rest of this turn." The shimmering spirits of Amazoness Queen and Blowpiper appeared in front of Tania, halting Ocean's attack before it reached her.

"Sweet move," Jaden commented. "I'll just throw down a face-down and call it a turn."

"Alright, it's my turn." Tania smiled a little to herself as she saw the card she'd just drawn. "First, I'll put down a face-down of my own, then summon Amazoness Swords Woman in attack mode." The wild looking swordswoman appeared before Tania. (**1500**/1600) "And finally I'll use Amazoness Call to rip apart your fused monster." Thunder Giant split back into Sparkman and Clayman, both standing in attack mode. (**800**/2000) (**1600**/1400) "Now let's fight. Attack Clayman with Amazon Slash Attack." The swordswoman dashed at Clayman.

"If this goes through, he's done for," Banner said worriedly.

"Not so fast," Jaden interrupted. "I play my own trap, Elemental Recharge. Now I instantly gain 1000 life-points for each elemental hero I have out on the field."

Jaden: 500-3500

Clayman was then destroyed by his enemy cutting him in half with her sword.

Jaden: 3500-2800

"You may have saved yourself then, but thanks to my Amazoness Arena, we're going to fight again."

Jaden: 2800-2700

Tania: 2000-1900

This time, Jaden connected first with a punch to Tania's face, and the amazon woman immediately struck back with an uppercut.

Jaden: 2700-2600

Tania: 1900-1800

"You know, I used to think hitting like a girl was a bad thing," Jaden said.

"Oh, it's a bad thing alright… for you."

"My move," Jaden announced as he drew. "I play Pot of Greed, draw two cards. And now, Sparkman, attack Amazoness Swords Woman."

"Not so fast. I've got my trap, Amazoness Archers." Tania smirked at Jaden's expression. "It's a rare card, and I can only use it when you make the mistake of attacking a field that only has amazoness monstesr on it. Once you do, all your monsters lose 600 attack points. Not too shabby for a girl, huh?" (**1600-1000**/1400) (**1500-900**/1200)

"No, not too shabby at all. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna give up. Go, Sparkman." Jaden's electric hero dashed forward, only to be cut down by Tania's swordswoman.

Jaden: 2600-2100

"And now let's have ourselves round seven."

"Hang on, now Jaden's gonna use the soul attack?" Alexis said, apparently confused.

Jaden: 2100-2000

Tania: 1800-1700

They both jumped in the air, meeting in the middle of the arena, their fists striking at the same time, blowing each other away as they hit.

Jaden: 2000-1900

Tania: 1700-1600

"Nice, you really duel with passion," Tania commented.

"What's he trying to prove?" Banner asked.

"I don't know," Christine said. "But I've never seen Jaden duel with this much zeal before in my life."

"Yes, he's enjoying himself," Bastion remarked. "And without being in love."

"Next, my Amazoness Archers force your other monster to attack."

"You want it? Then you're gonna get it. Ocean, get er." Despite being weakened, Jaden's water hero still didn't hesitate before jumping forward to meet his opponent, even though he still lost.

Jaden: 1900-1300

"Well, that cost me some points, but it's worth it to rumble."

"Not again!" Syrus cried out.

Both duelists' souls jumped out, swinging for each other and each landing a hit in a short moment.

Jaden: 1300-1100

Tania: 1600-1400

"Next, I'll throw down two a couple of face-downs and activate The Warrior Returning Alive. Now Clayman goes from the graveyard right to my hand."

"My turn… And I summon Amazoness Tiger." The one eyed tiger appeared on the field, growling. (**1100**/1500) "And this kitty gains 400 more attack points for each amazoness monster I have. She just loves company." (**1100-1900**/1500)

"I don't blame her," Crowler said. "Look how powerful she got."

"How about we try not to sound quite so impressed, okay?" Alexis shot back.

"Amazoness swords woman, attack Jaden directly."

"Hold on," Jaden interrupted as Tania's monster was charging. "I play A Hero Emerges. It goes like this, you pick a random card in my hand, and if it's a monster I can summon it. How's that for some company for your cat?"

"But you only have one card left," Tania realized.

"Perfect," Zane said. "She have no choice but to pick the-"

"Elemental Hero Clayman!" Jaden accounted, his stone warrior appeared on the field, kneeling down in front of him, just in time to block the amazoness' sword. (800/**2000**)

"I'm sorry, but Swords Woman's special ability makes it so that you take all battle damage. So you'll probably wanna duck now." The tip of the warrior woman's sword then broke off, going on to strike at Jaden.

Jaden: 1100-600

"But Jaden, you hardly have any life-points left," Alexis pointed out.

"Let's go!"

"Bring it!"

Jaden: 600-500

Tania: 1400-1300

Jaden's soul dashed forward, catching Tania's with a hard punch, while hers fought back with a straight kick.

Jaden: 500-400

Tania: 1300-1200

"What's he doing?" Chumley wondered.

"If this keeps up, Jaden's gonna lose!" Syrus piped up.

"Perhaps he's fallen under Tania's spell," Zane suggested. "The same spell that caused Bastion to lose."

"It's no spell," Bastion said. "It's love, as pure as the wind driven snow. Right Tania?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, lover boy. Now let's get back to business. Amazoness Tiger, attack Clayman." The one eyed tiger leapt forward, only to bounce off Clayman's body.

Tania: 1200-1100

"What the- Why would she attack a monster with more defense points?" Chazz asked.

"That's easy," Lyna spoke up. "Cause she wants to use that arena of hers again." A few seconds and two punches later, both duelists' points had already dropped.

Jaden: 400-200

Tania: 1100-900

"He's still in there," Erik noted. "If barely," he added under his breath.

"Next, I'll activate Amazoness Trainer to seal your fate." Amazoness Tiger growled as it suddenly powered up. (**1900-2300**/1500)

"Jaden is in some deep trouble," Chumley said.

"Since she played Amazoness Trainer, if that Tiger is unable to defeat its target, that spell card instills a tactical advantage of 400 extra attack points for another attack," Zane explained.

"Okay, can somebody explain that to me in English?" Chazz asked.

"Easy," Erik spoke up. "Tiger doesn't win, so it gets 400 more points, and attacks again."

"What's the hold up?" Jaden asked, as Tania wasn't yet ordering an attack.

"Oh, you know huh… just enjoying the moment. After all, it'll be our anniversary… Attack!"

"Not yet! I play a trap, Clay Charge. Here's how it works. If you attack Clayman when I use this trap card, not only do both monsters bite the dust, but you take 800 points of damage." Clayman then jumped up and tackled the incoming Tiger, both of them blowing up when they hit the ground.

Tania: 900-100

"So, you're playing hard to get I see. I like that."

"Hey, I'm just liking this all out duel."

"You know, I have to admit, I'm liking it too," Syrus said. "It's non-stop action."

"I think that's exactly what Jaden's going for too," Zane pitched in. "Beat her at her own game."

"I guess, unless he's trying to impress her," Chazz added. "Who knows, maybe that Tania girl is Jaden's type."

"I doubt it," Lyna said with a bit of a smirk, seeing Alexis' face.

"Why don't you shut it, Chazz," the blond girl in question said. "No way Jaden would ever date someone like that… thing. And unless you've forgotten, this is about more than just marriage. Jaden needs a miracle draw here or Tania's gonna get another spirit gate key. Not to mention Bastion's gonna spend the rest of his life in some lame love limbo. There's a lot riding on Jaden's shoulders this move."

"You've fought well Jaden, I'll give you that," Tania spoke up. "But my swordswoman will beat you. Remember, when she fights, you take all the battle damage. You can't win."

"With one card I can, and I just drew it. Go Elemental Hero Wildheart, in attack mode." The tribal hero stood tall on Jaden's field, ready to fight. (**1500**/1600)

"They have the same attack points," Chazz noted.

"So then they'll destroy each other," Chumley added.

"And Jaden won't take any damage," Jeremy pitched in.

"Wildheart, attack Amazoness Swordswoman." Jaden's hero drew the sword at his back and dashed at his enemy, first striking a blow, then receiving one in return.

"Now let's go." Both duelists' souls popped out again, about to battle for the last time.

"This is it, she's only got a hundred points," Alexis said.

"And I'm back down to earth," Bastion spoke up. "Jaden's proved that you can duel passionately without being in love. Now go get her Jaden and win this match for us both!" Jaden and Tania's souls flew forward, fists pulled back, punching at the same time, then fading back into their bodies when they were done.

Jaden: 200-100

Tania: 100-0

"It is over," Banner remarked, the holographic cage fading away.

"Never have I seen two people duel with such passion and heart," Crowler said.

"So tell us, Bastion, how do you feel?" Lyna asked. "Like a man still in the throes of love? Or has this duel finally helped you rebound?"

"Still in love… but in love now, with dueling. I see where the passion lies once again."

"That's the spirit!"

"I guess that's game," Jaden said. "Lemme know if you ever want a rematch."

"No rematch. I joined the Shadow Riders to find a duelist worthy of being my husband, but I've discovered I am not worthy of being with someone as strong as you. She was then surrounded by a purple energy, kneeling down and transforming into a white tiger.

"A tiger?" Syrus remarked.

"… well this is unexpected," Jeremy commented.

"Tania?" Bastion spoke up, surprised and confused. "Is that you?"

"_Farewell, Bastion_," she spoke telepathically, then turned around and walked out, followed by the other tiger, leaving behind a black glove with a millennium symbol on it.

"Well then… I guess that this is it."

"Boy, Bastion, you sure know how to pick em," Chazz said with an amused expression.

"Don't worry, buddy," Jaden spoke up. "There's plenty of fish in the sea."

"Yes, but not too many tigers… thank goodness."

* * *

So, sorry for the ridiculous delay, please review, and I hope to hear from you again when I get back.

**Cards made up:**

Amazoness Spirit  
Normal Trap  
Effect: Activate only when you would take more than 1000 damage, during a turn in which one or more 'Amazoness' monsters you control have been destroyed and sent to the graveyard. Remove from play all your 'Amazoness' monsters that have been destroyed, then for each one, increase your life-points by 100 and inflict 500 damage to your opponent's life-points. After this effect resolves, you take no damage for the rest of the turn.  
Image: The ghost of Amazoness Swords Woman protecting Amazoness Blowpiper.

**Next chapter: **A crazy sea lion comes roaring around Duel Academy, looking for Jaden.


	48. Duel with a Crazy Old Sea Dog

Disclaimer: Idonotownyugiohgxatall. (add spaces to read)

So, after a long break, I'm back! YAYYYYY!~!~!~!~! Read and enjoy, if you please.

* * *

****The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Duel with a Crazy Old Sea Dog**

It was another nice, and relatively peaceful day for the people living on Academy Island. However, in the cafeteria room of the Slifer Red Dorm, things were a little more agitated. "YOU DID WHAT!?" Syrus cried out upon hearing Jaden's words, drawing attention from the other students in the room.

"Syrus?" Jeremy spoke up, sitting at the same table as them. "I can understand that you're not happy because of what Jaden did, but would you mind talking just a little less loud?"

"But where am I going to sleep?" he asked, toning it down a little.

"I'm sorry," Jaden apologized. "I guess in all the excitement, I… didn't think about it."

"EXCITEMENT!? YOU TRADED MY BED FOR A CARD!" Syrus then leaned his head down against the table, whining in misery.

"But I got it for you. Isn't your birthday next week?"

"IT WAS LAST TUESDAY!" Syrus cried out, visibly annoyed and ticked off. "And I'm surprised I made it with everything you've put me through this year. I might need a… new roommate!"

"Don't say that, I'm really sorry. I promise I'll be the best room ever from now on."

"What's this?" Chazz spoke up a few tables away from them, smirking at their situation. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Hey! It's private!" Syrus shot back.

"Come on, it's just Chazz," Jaden said. "We share everything… like dessert for example."

"Yeah right, Slifer slacker. Dream on!"

"Okay… then can I have your corndogs too, and your mashed potatoes?"

"Dude, you already stole a chunk off of my plate when I wasn't looking," Jeremy reminded him. He then looked down at his food, and was surprised to see that there was more of it missing that he'd first thought. "Make that a big chunk."

"How about you ask for a bed while you're at it!?" Syrus said.

The door to the cafeteria then slid open and Chumley walked in, a look of confusion on his face. "Hey, guys? Anyone order a submarine? Cause there's one parked outside."

* * *

Over at the island's docks, a strange looking and somewhat fat man dressed as a sailor was standing on a submarine floating still on the water. "Avast, ye landlubbers!" he spoke into a microphone. "I be the Admiral!" All of the students gathered clamped their hands over their ears as a high pitched noise resounded across the docks.

"Who is he?" Jaden yelled over the noise. "A pirate or something?"

"Ye scallywags never laid your ears on the tales of the Admiral? Scourge of the seven seas?"

"Yeah, he sounds like a pirate," Alexis commented.

"No doubt, but he still looks and acts crazy, even for a pirate," Christine added.

"I set sail to challenge one of ye to a duel!" Everyone held their hands over their ears as the high pitched noise flared again. "The bilge rat known as Jaden Yuki!"

Bastion and Alexis looked at the fat man in surprise. "Is he-"

"A Shadow Rider!" Jaden finished for them.

"Show yourself, Jaden!" The admiral shouted into his microphone, causing the annoying noise to pop up again. "Where ye be?"

"Ye be here?" Jaden replied a moment later. "And aren't you just a little old to be playing dress up?"

"Why, I'll keelhaul ya poopdeck! At arms, ye scurvy dog! We be dueling. Now get yarr, game on!"

"Now?" Jaden asked, surprised.

"No, next week," Bastion said sarcastically.

"This should be good," Chazz commented.

The annoying high pitched sound came out yet again, causing everyone to flinch and cover their ears. "Let's go, ye drivel swigged. You'd best come aboard. If not, I be tyin' yer mates to the ship for for Davy Jones!" Jaden frowned at this and started walking towards a small boat next to the edge of the docks.

"Jaden, hold up!" Alexis said. "If this is a shadow game, no way we're letting you go all alone. I'm coming with."

"Me too," Christine pitched in.

"I don't know… Syrus had a point. In all my duels lately, my friends always seem to end up getting in danger."

"Jaden, we're in this together," the blond girl reminded him.

"Right," Bastion agreed. "I'm with you too."

"Ha, just wish I had a parrot," Chazz said as he joined them. "Or an eye-patch."

"Ain't no way I'm staying behind," Jeremy said with determination.

"That settles it," Alexis confirmed.

"Well…" Jaden began, but was interrupted by that annoying sound again, him and all the others covering their ears.

"I'll scuttle the likes of ye, lessen ye come aboard!"

"Are you going to come long, Syrus?" Jaden asked, turning to face him.

"How about it, Sy?" Chumley spoke up. However, the short Slifer in question merely looked away, the downcast expression on his face giving them his answer.

At that, Jaden and his 'boarding party' hopped into the small boat near the docks and headed towards the large submarine, where a crane reached down, grabbing a hold of the boat and pulling it out of the water, setting them down on the roof of the sub, where they went through one entrance, while the Admiral went down another. "Pretty high-tech for a pirate," Bastion said, while the Admiral went down another. "He seems more less privateer, and more financier." They all stepped out of the boat and were taken to a control room, where they could see a big dueling arena at the front of the vessel itself. "How else could he afford a submarine, or a… submerged duel arena?"

"Whoa!" Jaden exclaimed. "Check it out. Talk about shiver me timbers."

"This bein a fine ship," the Admiral said. "But now let's weigh anchor and duel, ya filthy bilge rat!" Jaden and the crazy pirate/sailor walked out of the control room and into the arena, standing on a long platform at opposite ends from each other, with a walkway in-between. The walls were a large glass sphere, which let them see the ocean floor and the water all around them. "Wish yer mates farewell. Ye ain't be seeing them again!" the Admiral said, laughing as he inserted his deck into a custom gold duel disk with a handful of gems.

"What're you waiting for?" Jaden asked as he inserted his own deck. "We gonna duel, or walk the plank?"

"Walk the plank on a submarine?" Chazz said incredulously, him and the others watching from back in the control room. "How about he opens a window while he's at it?"

"How about he starts to concentrate?" Bastion shot back. "That Admiral's rearing to go."

"Anyone care to bet what kind of deck he'll be using?" Christine said in a tone that suggested she had a good idea already.

"DUEL!" the two duelists declared as they started up their disks.

Jaden: 4000

Admiral: 4000

"Arr this!" Jaden said, drawing his sixth card. "I summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat in defense mode." The fiery, orange and white dressed woman appeared kneeling in front of Jaden. (4/1300/**1000**) As soon as she did, the lights suddenly went out in the arena. "I should've guessed you'd turn off all the lights. It is a shadow game!"

"Shadow game?" the Admiral replied, sounding confused.

"What's it for? My soul? My key?"

"What you be speaking, you yellow livered swab?"

"You know what I mean! What's your shadow sham gonna be? Are ye gonna turn me into a doll, or maybe lock my soul in a card?"

The crazy pirate's face looked even more surprised at this. "What ye mouth be spouting?"

"Shadow game, remember?"

"Tis no shadow game!"

"But what about me key?"

"Key?"

"What key? The key that… Wait a sec… Okay, you are trying to unlock the spirit gates, right… aren't you?"

"Why you scrubby swine! I be no Shadow Rider! And I'll prove it! Bring us up, mateys!" At his order, the submarine suddenly started going up until it was floating on the top of the water again. Unfortunately, those in the control hadn't taken the quick ascent that well.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Chazz moaned.

For his part, Jeremy was looking ready to hurl, and raced off to a nearby bathroom, where he emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. "Are you starting to regret having tagged along?" Christine asked.

"As long as that doesn't happen again, I think I'll live," he answered.

"This pirate sure knows his sailing," Alexis commented as she stood up. "Guess he really isn't a Shadow Rider."

"If this isn't a Shadow Game, how did he shroud the duel arena in darkness?" Bastion asked. "Would someone care to explain?"

One of the sailors went over to one of the consoles and pressed a button for the intercom as the lights came back on again. "Sir, we fixed the lights in the arena." All of the academy students watching fell down in shock at the revelation.

"See, me mate? I'm an Ocean Rider. Not some son of a sprawn Shadow Rider."

"Whatever you say, Cap," Jaden said.

"I be an admiral!"

"Sure. Anyway, I'll throw down a face-down and call it a turn. Speaking of which, you now lose 200 points for each elemental hero I have out thanks to Lady Heat's effect. Sure, there's only one, but it's a start." The defending heroine conjured a fire ball in one hand and threw it at Jaden's adversary.

Admiral: 4000-3800

"Now, prepare to taste the briny, with this! A Legendarrrry Ocean!" the Admiral said as he inserted a card into his field spell zone. Their surroundings changed so that they were in an underwater realm with great stone ruins.

Jaden suddenly panicked and held his hands to his throat. "I can't breathe!"

"Jaden!" Bastion spoke up. "You do realize that you're not actually drowning, don't you? It's just a hologram."

"Oh yeah…" Jaden said, relaxing. "Maybe they'll throw in some holographic lobster for lunch."

"Will ye think it be a grand laugh when my sea monsters rip ye limb from limb, matey?"

"Oh man, his field spell reduces the level of all water attribute monsters in both player's hands by one," Christine pointed out.

"That's right. So I be able to summon Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness without a sacrifice. And I be doing just that." A giant black and white orca with a mass of weapons and equipement on its body and a large cannon in its mouth rose up on the Admiral's field. (4/**2100-2300**/1200-1400) "Now, me Orca Mega-Fortress, scuttle his Lady Heat. That means attack, ya swab!" The giant orca reared its head back and fired a blast from the cannon in its mouth, obliterating Jaden's heroine. "I be expecting more from you, Jaden."

"Huh?"

"It be true, I know who ye be. Yer deck, yer victories. Oh yes, I studied you like a map. A map with a handsome treasure.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, so I'll just play my trap, Hero Signal. Thanks to this, since you destroyed one of my monsters, I get to summon an elemental hero that'll fit right in with the playing field. Elemental Hero Ocean." Jaden's blue and white aquatic hero rose up in front of his, getting a boost as he kneeled down with his arms crossed. (4-3/1500-1700/**1200-1400**)

"That's bein more like it. This is why I came to find ye! I place one card face-down and be endin my turn."

"Me?" Jaden wondered as he drew. "Why? And while you think about it, during my standby phase, thanks to Ocean's ability, I can pick an elemental hero on my field or graveyard and put it right in my hand." Lady Heat slid out from the graveyard and Jaden picked it up. "Then I'll bring out Elemental Hero Stratos." The blue skinned hero with airplane like wings stood up next to Ocean. (4/**1800**/300) "And thanks to his effect, I can add another elemental hero from my deck to my hand, like elemental Hero Heat. Now I play the spell card Hero's Bond. This lets me give my guys a little more company by summoning two more heroes from my hand, provided they're level four or less. So let's welcome Heat and Lady Heat." The fiery heroine rose up again, accompanied by her male counterpart. (4/**1300**/1000) (4/**1600**/1200) "And what's cool about Heat, or rather, what's hot, is that he gains 200 extra attack points for every elemental hero I've got out." The male fire hero flexed his muscles, gaining a boost from the presence of his allies. (4/**1600-2400**/1200)

"Alright, now he's got a monster with enough points to fry that orca," Jeremy pointed out.

"I switch Ocean to attack mode…" Jaden's aquatic hero stood up from his defensive position, trident like weapon at the ready. (3/**1700**/1400) "And have my Hero Heat take the fight to your monster." Jaden's fiery hero ignited his fists and dashed towards the enemy monster.

"I reveal my trap, Tornado Wall. As long as I have Umi out on the field, I don't take any damage from yer attacking monsters. And since my ocean is treated like it, yer attacks are as worthless as fish floppin on a deck."

"Oh yeah? Well I can still barbeque that whale since heat has more attack points." The Heat then jumped up and brought his flaming fists down on the orca's head, vanquishing it, although the appearance of pillars of water behind it prevent damage from going on to the Admiral. "And then I'll throw down another face-down, as well as Mirage of Nightmare and let Lady Heat take another crack at your score." Lady Heat conjured up two bigger fireballs and launched them straight at Jaden's opponent, who cried out and swatted his coat as they made contact.

Admiral: 3800-3000

"So, what's so important about me, huh? Why'd you go through all this trouble?" Jaden asked.

"Well lad… Listen, the Admiral's to be building a new Duel Academy at the bottom of the briny deep. Watta you think? But, there be a hitch. He still needs a first mate. A mate who be grand… a mate like ye!" he said, pointing at Jaden. "And ye'll help me run it, ya swab."

"Me?"

"Not Jaden!" Alexis exclaimed. "He can't leave us!"

"Why not? It is an amazing opportunity," Bastion pointed out.

"Good!" Chazz said. "Maybe now I'll get a new room."

"Dude," Jeremy spoke up. "Jaden's one of the key keepers. We kind of need him here to save the world, remember?"

"Yeah… right."

"You seem rather concerned for Jaden," Christine noted to her fellow Obelisk.

"Of course. It's like Jeremy said, we need him to help us deal with these Shadow Riders."

"Are you sure that's the only reason you're worried about him?" she added with a smirk.

"What other reason would there be?" Alexis shot back, blushing a little bit in embarrassment.

"Jaden!" the Admiral spoke up again. "Ye be the finest duelist on the seven seas. I want ye to teach with me. Ye'd be great."

"It's true," the brunette Slifer admitted. "I mean, I have taught Chazz a few things."

"Then you're in! Welcome aboard!"

"Uhh, I was joking."

"Were ye!? Then what say ye to a friendly wager? Tween mates?"

Jaden had a pensive expression on his face as he thought it over. "Forget it!"

"I ain't be asking ye, I be telling ye! The duel is begun, and them wages be set. If ye win, I be letting ye and ye mates go free. But if ye lose, ye leave Duel Academy and join me!" Jaden and his friends all gasped in surprise.

The Admiral laughed at this. "It be being my turn now."

"Which means my Mirage spell activates," Jaden announced, shaking off his stupor. "During your standby phase, I can draw until I'm holding four cards."

"I play me own spell, Moray of Greed. So by sendin two water monsters to my deck, I get a bounty of three new cards. then I play the Water Hazard. When my field be bare, this lets me special summon up to a level four water monster from my hand. So I'll be summoning Mermaid Knight." A mermaid with a green lower body, reddish hair, wearing blue armor and holding a wicked sword and shield came up before the Admiral, looking ready to fight. (3/**1500-1700**/700-900) "Then I summon Star Boy." A red starfish with pointy teeth and a single eye in the center of its forehead appeared next to the mermaid. (1/**550-750**/500) "Thanks to his special ability, not only do all water monsters gain a 500 attack points, but all fire monsters lose 400 points." The red starfish monster did a strange dance, causing water to surge on both sides of the field, powering up the water monsters, but making Heat and Lady Heat weaker. (1/**750-1250**/900) S.B. (3/**1700-2200**/1400) E.H.O. (3/**1700-2200**/900) M.K. (4/**2400-2000**/1200) E.H.H (4/**1300-900**/1000) E.H.L.H.

"Now me Star Boy be making yer Lady Heat walk the mutinous plank." The starfish creature swam forward, tackling the weakened heroine.

Jaden: 4000-3650

And with him gone, Heat became even weaker. (4/**2000-1800**/1200) "Then I'll have me Mermaid Knight destroy yer flyin friend." The mermaid lunged at Stratos, striking him with her sword.

Jaden: 3650-3250

(4/**1800-1600**/1200) "And thanks to her effect, she be able to kick yer other hot headed friend overboard."

"He's right," Bastion realized. "As long as Umi is on the field, or A Legendary Ocean, Mermaid Knight can attack twice per turn." The monster in question then took out Heat with another swing of her blade.

Jaden: 3250-2650

"I play Emergency Provisions. So by kicking a spell or trap card off the field, like my Mirage of Nightmare, my life-points get an extra one triple zero. And I won't have to get rid of any of my cards when my turn comes back around."

Jaden: 2650-3650

"Man, I haven't gotten this wet this that walrus show at Sea Land," Jaden commented.

"Tis no theme park!"

"Well it could be. You just need some rides."

"Then I'll be I ending my turn with one face-down."

"And I'll use Ocean's effect to pick up Elemental Hero Stratos, and then summon him." (4/**1800**/300)

"Is that the best ye can do? Even if ye keelhaul my monsters, I be takin no damage thanks to my Tornado Wall."

"You missed the boat, Admiral," Jaden said with a grin. "Lemme fill ya in. When he's summoned, I can activate one of two effect. The second, is that for every hero on the field other than himself, I can destroy one of your spell or trap cards. So you can say goodbye to A Legendary Ocean. And with that gone, so is your Tornado Wall." Stratos sent out a tornado that destroyed the field spell, returning the surrounding to normal and taking Tornado Wall along with it. (1-2/**1250-1050**/700-500) S.B. (3-4/**2200-2000**/900-700) M.K (3-4/**2200-2000**/1400-1200) E.H.O "And now Ocean attacks your Star Boy." Jaden's water hero dashed forward and sliced the red starfish in half with his weapon.

Admiral: 3000-2050

(4/**2000-1500**/700) M.K. (4/**2000-1500**/1200) E.H.O. "Stratos, take out his Mermaid Knight." The armed mermaid was promptly hit by a hard punch that sent her colliding with the Admiral, knocking her out of the duel and him off his feet.

Admiral: 2050-1750

"Then I'll throw down a couple of face-downs."

"Perchance a deal?" the Admiral proposed as he stood up. "We maroon this duel now, and you come work for me for a thousand doubloons."

"How much did he say?" Chazz asked.

"That's over a million dollars!" Bastion exclaimed.

"That is a lot of booty!" Alexis noted.

"I beg your pardon?" the Ra yellow boy asked.

"How bad does this guy want Jaden to work for him?" Jeremy wondered.

"Apparently, a lot," Christine said.

"So what say ye, Jaden? Do you want to be rich?"

"Nope! Don't you get it? I don't care about the money."

"You don't? But what have ye back at Duel Academy, ye swab. Ye mate Syrus doesn't want ye."

"Wow, he sure did his homework," Chazz noted.

"This is kind of disturbing," Jeremy commented.

"Syrus?" Alexis asked, looking at the two Slifers. "What happened?"

"Sy and Jaden had a bit of a… falling out," the blond boy explained. "And that'd be why he didn't want to come with us."

"Ohh…"

"Mull it over whilst we duel," the Admiral spoke up as he drew. "But remember, if I win, ye be mine, either way. And now, I play this, Card of Sanctity. So treasure be raining down, letting us both draw until we're each holding a total of six cards." Admiral drew the full six cards, while Jaden picked up three. "Then we both be drawing three more cards thanks to Spellbook inside the Pot."

"He must have something up his sleeve to be letting Jaden draw this many cards," Christine said.

"Now I play the spell Cost Down, getting rid of a card in my hand to reduce the levels of all monsters in my hand by two. Then I discard Warrior of Atlantis to add A Legendary Ocean from my deck to my hand, then play it." The surroundings changed to reflect the field spell once more. (4-3/**1500-1700**/1200-1400) "Now I be able to summon this next monster without a sacrifice. Levia-Dragon – Daedelus." An impressive blue sea-serpent with red spikes and fins roared as it appeared on the field, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth. (4/**2600-2800**/1500-1700)

"Nice fish," Jaden said. "Does he bite?"

"Yes, but he won't be getting the chance, cause he's just a sacrifice. Now hold on to yer britches, for there be an even better monster. And he be called Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedelus." Daedalus evolved until it became even bigger, more menacing and had two heads. (7/**2900-3100**/1600-1800) "Then I be playing Monster Reborn, to bring back Spiral Serpent that I discarded." Another sea-serpent appeared on the field, this one with a wider body and slightly different appearance, but big and menacing nonetheless. (8/**2900-3100**/2900-3100) "But he won't be here for long, because I reveal me face-down, Interdimensional Matter Transporter. So my Serpent be removed from play till the end of the turn."

"I'm lost," Jeremy said. "Why'd he kick a monster that big off the field?"

"So that it wouldn't get in the way once he plays his other monster's effect," Bastion explained.

"And now, you'd best be wary of Ocean Dragon Lord's special ability," the Admiral warned Jaden as he took his field spell and placed it in the graveyard. "By sending me Legendary Ocean to the graveyard, the whole lot of cards on this here field of war, and in our hands, meet a dastardly end!" The powerhouse monster reared its head back and blasted the entire field with a big beam of purple energy, leaving Jaden exposed and forcing both players to get rid of the cards in their hands. (7-8/**3100-2900**/1800-1600) "Ramparts be down, fire all forward batteries. In other words, attack!" Admiral's monster let out another beam of energy, this one blue, which hit Jaden directly, taking out a big chunk of his score and causing him to fall to his knees.

Jaden: 3650-750

"Now I be ending me turn, which means Spiral Serpent's coming back." The other big sea monster rose to the field again. (8/**2900**/2900) "Ye be my treasure now. Dar ain't be nothing you can do to stop me monsters!"

"We'll just see about that. I still got one draw left… mate." 'It's all or nothing,' Jaden thought to himself as he looked at his deck.

"Jaden's going to need something big to pull off a victory here," Alexis said.

"Don't worry. Jaden's been in tough situations like this before," Jeremy reminded her. "He can do it."

"Let's hope," Bastion added.

"Here goes," Jaden declared as he drew. "And I special summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman!" The blue armored, caped water hero appeared standing in front of Jaden. (3/**800/**1200)

"What be so special about him?"

"I'll tell you. Bubbleman hates being out all alone. So if he's the last card in my hand, I get to special summon him automatically. And if he's the only card on the field when he makes his grand appearance, I can draw two cards from my deck."

"Blast!"

"Oh, and Admiral? I'm not done yet. I now activate Pot of Greed, so I get two more cards."

"Ye swine!"

"If you didn't like that, then you'll hate this. I play Miracle Fusion, so I can fusion summon an elemental hero using monsters on my field and in my graveyard. So I'll remove Elemental Hero Ocean and the Elemental Hero Woodsman you forced me to get rid of. All to create, Elemental Hero Terra Firma." Ocean and Woodsman appeared before Jaden, before jumping into a fusion vortex and emerging as the impressive Legendary Planet monster. (8/**2500**/2000)

"Alright!" Jeremy cheered. "One of Jaden's best monsters!"

"Then I'll play Elemental Recovery. When I have an elemental hero out on the field, this lets me get back a spell from the grave so long as I remove one Polymerization. And in case you were wondering, you're the one who sent Polymerization to the graveyard. So now I'll fuse Heat and Lady Heat to bring out Elemental Hero Inferno." The two fire heroes lunged at each other, creating a tower of flames when they collided. The blazed died down a moment later, revealing a new fiery hero with white orange on his body, and covered in tough orange armor with flames. His hands were mad of solid magma, and in the center of his chest was a ball of flaming rock. (8/**2300**/1600) "There's more. I summon Elemental Hero Avian." The green feathered hero appeared on the field next to Terra Firma. (3/**1000**/1000)

"Ye must be off yer rocker," the Admiral said, laughing a little at Jaden. "Ye just summoned four monsters, and not one of them can defeat my mighty beasts."

"Who said I was done? You see Terra Firma's ability allows me to sacrifice one elemental hero on the field, and absorb its attack points." Avian turned into a green light that flowed into the more powerful hero's body, boosting his attack point. (8/**2500-3500**/2000) "Now take out his Ocean Dragon Lord with Earth Impact!" Terra Firma's entire body started glowing white, and then he dove at his target, slamming both fists into the sea-serpents head with such strength that the blow resounded throughout the entire sub.

Admiral: 1750-1150

"Now Inferno, turn that Spiral Serpent into a sushi special."

"Are you daft?" the crazy fat sailor asked. "Me sea monster has more points than yer fire boy. Try again, ye salty swab."

"Actually, when he gets in a smack down with a water attribute monster, Inferno gains an extra 1000 attack points." The fiery giant's body became surrounded by towering flames, boosting his power. (8/**2300-3300**/1600) "Now he has enough points to make your dragon… go boom. Sweet effect, huh?" Inferno then charged at Spiral Serpent, slamming into it and burning it to a crisp.

Admiral: 1150-750

"And Admiral… you haven't forgotten about my Bubbleman, have you?" The Admiral shook in fright as he realized that his fate was sealed. "Bubbleman, shiver his timbers. Bubble Blast!" Bubbleman fired off a shot of water that blasted him off his feet and sent him flying over to Jaden's side of the field.

Admiral: 750-0

"And that's game."

'Arr… I might have been bested in this here duel, but tharr be another way to catch this wily fish Jaden,' the Admiral thought to himself as he lay down on Jaden's side of the field.

* * *

"What do you mean, they left!?" Jaden asked as he and the Admiral entered the control room a short time after their duel.

"They took the first and only dinghy home," he explained.

"So I'm stuck?"

"I fear it be true."

"But…"

"See for yourself." Jaden looked at the monitors, which showed his friends going off in the boat that had brought them to the sub in the first place.

"So… what now?" Jaden asked, feeling a little down. "Uh… Admiral?"

"Now ye begin your new life under the sea, Jaden. Sheets to the wind, we be makin way to me first mate's new home!"

* * *

Back on the docks, Jaden's friends were telling the others about what had happened on the submarine, including how the Admiral had told them that Jaden had changed his mind and decided to leave Duel Academy behind to come with him. "So he's really… gone, just like that?" Syrus asked once they were finished.

"I'm afraid so, Syrus," Alexis said.

"Apparently he decided to seize the opportunity that the Admiral presented him," Bastion added.

"Oh man," Chumley moaned. "So what're we gonna do without Jaden?"

"Somehow, I think I'll manage," Chazz said in his usual tone of voice, leaving them all behind.

"This sucks!" Jeremy declared, walking away, followed by Christine. The others then started to go back their own ways, until Syrus was alone on the docks with Chumley.

"Come on, Sy," the large Slifer spoke to his friend. "Let's go back for now. Who knows, maybe Jaden'll come back soon."

"If you say so," he replied in a downcast voice.

* * *

So, I hope you all liked it, and if you'd be so kind as to review, then that would be varrr-y nice. Also, I'd like to thank Duelist of Dawn for letting me use his idea of cutting it here and showing off what happens during the time jaden's gone.

**Next chapter**: Jeremy and Christine spend the day relaxing and meet another couple who take them on in a tag duel.


	49. A Couples' Duel

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yugioh GX, and that's final!

Took a little longer than I expected, but here to have it.

Also, I would like to thank Duelist of Dawn for helping me come up with ideas for this chapter.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**A Couples' Duel**

Since Jaden's duel against the Admiral and his consequential departure, things had been rather uneventful around Academy Island. In the morning of the following day, Chumley and Jeremy could be found eating at a table in the Slifer dorm's cafeteria. Syrus was not with them, having elected to stay in their room moping. "It kinda feels depressing not having Jaden around anymore," Chumley commented, poking at something on his plate that appeared to be slightly overcooked fish and chips.

"Not to mention that Syrus is all down in the dumps since he left with that crazy pirate dude," Jeremy added.

"I just don't get how Jaden could've just left like that. Didn't you say he told the Admiral straight out he didn't care about the money? So what reason did he have for leaving?"

"Beat's me, Chum. Only thing I know is that it's not like Jaden to act that way. And now that I think about it, that pirate didn't even tell us why Jaden decided to change his mind."

"If you ask me, he sounds like a fishy character… no pun intended."

"Why are you two so worried about Jaden anyway?" Chazz asked, sitting a few tables away from them. "Good riddance, I say."

"That's just you talking, Chazz-ball," the blond Slifer spoke up. "And in case you've forgotten already, Jaden's the one who freed Alexis' brother when he beat Nightshroud, and he got Crowler and Zane back by defeating Camula."

"Whatever…" Chazz said dismissively, going back to his food.

As the two friends continued eating, a beeping sound came from their PDAs, as well as everyone else's. "I almost forgot about this," Chumley said as he looked at the screen. "They're having some activities starting in the afternoon for anyone who's interested. There's supposed to be something like a picnic, a dodge ball tournament, and a movie in the gym later on."

"Oh right… I just remembered I told Christine I'd take her out for today. Good thing they sent us all a reminder."

"Maybe I can get Syrus to do something other than just sit around on his bed. This sort of thing otta cheer him up."

"Good idea, Chum. Well, I think I'm gonna go out for a bit, so I'll see you later."

* * *

Leaving the Slifer Red dorm behind, Jeremy walked outside by himself for a good while. He ended up going along towards the main building, and eventually veered off into the woods, following a dirt path until he reached a small, peaceful clearing. To his surprise, he found that he wasn't the only one present, and that a guy about his height and build was standing in the middle of the clearing. He had short brown hair tied in a ponytail under a black and red camo bandana, wore a dark green t-shirt, tan pants, was barefoot, and appeared to be going through a series of martial arts moves. A blue blazer lying next to a pair of silver sneakers not far from him suggested which dorm he was from. "Hi," the guy called out as he caught sight of Jeremy.

"Hey. Didn't really expect to see anyone here."

"Didn't expect anyone else to come around these parts either."

"The name's Jeremy Wheeler," the blond Slifer introduced himself, extending a hand.

"Jason Anderson," he replied, shaking Jeremy's hand. "So, you come out here often?"

"To be honest, not much. Whenever I do any training, I usually get myself to wake up early enough in the morning and just go outside the red dorm."

"So, you're a martial artist?"

"You could say that. I took classes when I was younger, and I've kept up since then. From the looks of things, I'm guessing you must me into the same kind of stuff."

"You could say that. Well, seeing how it's just the two of us here, would you care to spar with me?"

"I was planning on doing some training by myself, but this sounds even more fun." Jeremy then took off his jacket, shoes, socks and dumped them on the ground in a pile before standing face to face with Jason. Both fighters took a ready stance, determined, but cautious from experience. Their eyes locked as they drew breath, and then they leapt into action. The first blows landed with almost no force, the counters with little more, each player gauging the other's strength, assessing technique, testing speed and ability to respond. Things started to heat up a little more following this, the two of them moving faster and doing more advanced moves, yet neither one seemed able to get an advantage. Finally, after their 'fight' had dragged on for a while, Jason blocked a punch from the blond Slifer and was able to get a hold on his arm and throw him to the ground. However, Jeremy managed to spin around and sweep his opponent's feet out from underneath him.

"Shall we… call it… a draw?" Jason asked, feeling a little out of breath.

"Yeah… sure," Jeremy replied as they pulled themselves to their feet. "That was fun."

"Sure was," the Obelisk boy agreed, both of them shaking hands. "Been a while since the last time I've had a challenge like this."

"It's nice to meet another Obelisk who doesn't have their nose up in the air."

"Yeah, sucks when I see so many other Obelisks looking down on students just because they're wearing red or yellow, when the truth of it is, there're lots of great duelists in Ra and Slifer."

"Well, I think I'd best be off," Jeremy announced. "I promised my girlfriend I'd take her out for those events they're having around the main building today."

"Actually, I promised my girlfriend the same thing," Jason said. "Why don't we head up there together?"

"Sure, why not?" The two of them put their extra clothes back on, with Jason also donning a pair of black rimmed glasses. Once they were fully dressed up again, they both walked down the path to get out of the woods and headed towards the main building. Once there, the two of them made their way to a large classroom where a lot of students from all three dorms were gathered, with the Chancellor standing before them at the front of the room.

"Hello everyone," Sheppard spoke up after a moment of waiting. "As you should all know, we're having a series of events to celebrate making it this far through the school year. We'll start with lunch in the cafeteria, finishing with a movie showing in the gymnasium. A schedule of activities will be sent to your PDA's. Participation is entirely optional, but I hope that as many of you as possible will join in and have fun."

As everyone started moving out of the classroom, Jason and Jeremy parted in order to find their girlfriends. The blond Slifer shuffled his way through the crowd, meeting up with Christine in the hallway. "Hello, beautiful," he said, sneaking up from behind and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Hey there, big boy," she replied, gently pulling his head forward and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten."

"Of course I wasn't about to do something like that."

"Hey, Christine!" someone spoke up from behind, causing the couple to turn around. They saw Jason and a tomboyish, yet pretty girl with long black hair, wearing a baseball cap backwards, and the standard Obelisk girls' uniform, except that instead of a skirt, she wore blue capris.

"Adriana," Christine greeted the girl in return. "And I assume this is your boyfriend you were talking about?"

"Yep, you got that right."

"Jeremy, this is Adriana Parker and Jason Anderson," the blue haired girl introduced them. "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Jeremy Wheeler."

"Nice meeting you," Adriana said politely.

"Dude, I wasn't aware our girlfriends knew each other," Jeremy noted to Jason.

"You guys met already?" Christine inquired.

"Not long before coming over here," Jason answered. "We just happened to go to the same spot in the woods for a little training and ended up facing each other in a sparring match. Ended up in a draw, but it was wicked awesome."

"You got that right," Jeremy shot back with a bit of a grin. "You know, it seems funny that we'd all run into each other like this."

"Actually, Christine and I had planned that we'd all join up for the activities today," Adriana specified. "Kind of like a double date, ya know?"

"You did remember me telling you about this plan, right?" Christine asked her boyfriend.

"Umm… that might possibly have slipped my mind," the blond Slifer admitted, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"You're incorrigible," Christine said, rolling her eyes at him in amusement. "But at least you're here, so I won't complain."

* * *

Not long afterwards, the four of them walked over to the cafeteria for lunch, where they grabbed some food before sitting at a table together. "Man, this is some good eatin," Jeremy commented as he shoved some mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Musta pulled out one of the cooks from Obelisk or something, cause this is some really good stuff they've whipped up here," Jason agreed, his mouth a little full as well.

"Boys, didn't you know…" Christine spoke up.

"It's rude to talk with your mouth full?" Adriana finished for her.

The two boys grinned sheepishly at this, but finished chewing their food before opening their mouths again. The four of them talked about each other as they ate, including how they'd first met and other such things. "Sounds like you guys had your share of embarrassing moments," Adriana commented after Christine and Jeremy finished recounting how they'd gotten together.

"You got that right," Christine agreed. "And even though I'm sure they didn't do it on purpose, it was pretty annoying how everyone kept interrupting when I was trying to confess."

"You're braver than me in that regard," Jeremy said. "After all, you're the one who had the guts to just come out and say it first. So, how did you guys get together anyway?" he asked Jason and Adriana.

"We've been friends pretty much since grade school," Jason explained. "So we've known each other for a while, and we started going out something like two year ago."

"Make that three years ago," Adriana butt in.

"But I thought that those first few times didn't really count."

"Well, you thought wrong, cause they counted by me. And remembering how you used to stare at me with a particular expression whenever you-"

"Okay, I get it, you win. Three years."

"Dude, she's got you whipped," Jeremy commented, snickering a little in amusement.

"Yeah, and from what I can tell, you're in the same boat with your girlfriend."

Jeremy opened his mouth to protest, but then thought about it for a moment and changed his mind. "Good point. Once she decides on something, I might as well be trying to stop a bulldozer." This earner him a slap on the back of the head from an irate Christine. "Ooookay, probably not the smartest thing I ever said."

* * *

Sometime later, they and a mass of other students went over to the gym, where the dodge ball tournament was going to take place. Jeremy and Jason wrote their names down to be part of one team, while the girls joined a different one. They waited for a while, until the last players had signed up, at which Ms. Fontaine checked through the list of teams, and paired them against each other. Jason and Jeremy, accompanied by Bastion, Erik, Syrus and Chumley, were put up against Chazz, three other Slifers, and two Ra boys. A ball to the arm put one of the Slifers out of the game after it started, soon followed by two others. Chazz and his teammates managed to hit Syrus and Bastion, though not without losing another of their members.

"Hey Chazzy! Here comes a fast one," Jeremy announced. Chazz attempted to dodge the incoming ball, but ended up getting hit in the face, knocking him flat on his back. "And down he goes." The last player on the opposing team managed to last a little longer, but eventually lost nonetheless.

"Way to go, guys!" Jason exclaimed at their victory. "We rock!"

For the next match-up, Christine and Adriana played with Lyna, Alexis, Jasmine and Mindy against a team of cocky Obelisk boys. However, their overconfidence most certainly ended up costing them. Right off the bat, Christine and Alexis each threw a ball at a big, tough looking guy, the two projectiles hitting him in the stomach and knocking him down. Another guy managed to use the ball he was holding to block the one thrown by Lyna that had been aimed high, only to have Adriana's ball clip his foot. The other team did put up some effort, taking Mindy and Jasmine out of the game, the latter by catching the ball she'd thrown, therefore getting one of their players back. However, just as he stepped into the game, he was promptly put out again with a ball to the head. A few short moments later, and the girls had already won. "We are so going to rule this tournament!" Adriana declared.

"Girl power!" Jasmine and Mindy cried out excitedly.

In their next match, Jeremy and the others went up against a team made up of faculty members, and managed to defeat them without losing a single player, despite their efforts. When the girls played again, they defeated a team of Ra boys easily enough, even if Christine was put out halfway through. The tournament continued in this general manner, with both teams winning all their matches, though some opponents did offer more of a challenge. Finally, when it came to the last round, only their two teams were left standing. "You're going down!" Jason said as they all stood against the wall, ready to begin at a moment's notice.

"Bring it on!" Adriana shot back.

They ran forward when signaled to begin, trying to grab the balls sitting on the center line. The game was a heated one, with both sides throwing, dodging, catching and blocking the balls for all their worth. Finally, after it had dragged a while, with a decent bit of back and forth action, it was down to Jason and Jeremy on one side, with Lyna, Christine and Adriana on the other. "You know…" the blond Slifer spoke up as him and his partner were standing still, each with a ball in their hands. "I'm not sure I feel comfortable throwing this ball after my girlf-" He was interrupted when Christine threw a fast ball that nailed him in the head.

"She sure doesn't seem to have any problem throwing the ball after you," Jason pointed out, throwing his ball at the blue haired girl, who managed to dodge it. Jason then managed to catch a throw from Adriana, putting Erik back into the game a second before getting hit in the arm. In the end, the girls lost when Erik caught Lyna's ball, letting Chumley join in again and eventually succeed in putting Christine out a moment later.

* * *

The two couples spent the rest of the day participating in a handful of various activities, letting out their competitiveness, but not letting it get in the way of having fun. By the time evening came around, the four of them came back to the gym, where a big screen and projection system had been set up. The movie they were showing was 'The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring', which the students were looking forward to. At one point in the movie, a sudden appearance caused a handful of students, including Christine, to jump in surprise. "Don't worry, your knight in shining armor's here to protect you," Jeremy said to his girlfriend.

"Thank goodness, I have no idea how I'd survive without him," she said in a joking tone.

When the movie was finally finished, everyone got up and started leaving. "Well, this was a pretty fun day," Jason said as the two couples were walking together. "Glad you girls thought about doing this."

"You're welcome, hun," Adriana replied.

"Hey, you guys know what would be the perfect way to end the day?" Jeremy spoke up. "A two on two tag duel."

"Good idea," Christine commented. "One couple against the other."

The four of them then walked outside to an open spot a short distance from the main building, strapped on their duel disks and inserted their decks. Christine stood facing Adriana, with Jeremy next to her who was opposite Jason. "Ready to rock this thing?" Jason asked.

"You betcha!" Jeremy shot back.

"DUEL!"

Adriana/Jason: 8000

Christine/Jeremy: 8000

"Anyone mind if I start things off?" Adriana inquired.

"Fire away," Christine said.

"Good, and I will, by summoning Foxfire in defense mode." A small orange fox appeared in a defensive position in front of Adriana. (2/300/**200**) "Then I'll place these two cards face-down and let Christine have a go."

"My turn," Christine announced. "I play the field spell Mystic Plasma Zone." Dark clouds with lightning racing amongst them materialized above their heads. "Thanks to this, all dark monsters gain 500 attack, and lose 400 defense. Now I'll summon Dark Crusader in attack mode." A tall man with a skeletal face, long red hair and decked out in pitch black armor from the neck down rose on the field, wielding a long, wide black sword. (4/**1600-2100**/200-0) "Then I'll activate his special ability, which lets me discard a dark attribute monster in order to give him 400 extra attack points." (4/**2100-2500**/0) "I'll end my turn with two cards face-down."

"Nice move, summoning a monster with 2500 attack points on your first turn," Jason commented. "For my part, I summon Masked Dragon in defense mode." A grayish dragon with a long, serpentine neck and a red underbelly crouched down in front of Jason. (3/1400/**1100**) "I'll also place a face-down card of my own and end my turn."

"Here goes…" Jeremy drew his sixth card and thought about his options for a second before making his move. "First, I'll play Reincarnation of Hope. By sending two cards from my hand to the graveyard, I can add a monster from my deck to my hand during the second standby phase after this was activated. Then, thanks to the spell Shien's Blessing, I can bring two six samurais back from the graveyard. Like the Six Samurai Summoner and Spirit of the Six Samurai." The wizened old spellcaster and the spirit in its armor rose up on the field. (2/500/**600**) (3/500/**500**) "The downside is that they have to stay in defense mode as long as they're on the field, and I can't attack you directly this turn. However, I can normal summon my summoner to have him treated as an effect monster." Jeremy's spellcaster gained a whitish aura around himself. "And now I'll use his special ability to bring out the Six Samurai Nisashi." The duel sword wielding, green armored samurai stood tall amidst his allies. (4/**1400**/700)

"Next up, I'll equip Spirit of the Six Samurai to Nisashi, giving him 500 more attack and defense points." The spirit floated over to Nisashi, covering him in his own armor. (4/**1400-1900**/700-1200) "And since I'm the last person to go, I can attack. So Nisashi will be going after Foxfire." Nisashi pulled out his twin swords and dashed at the little fox as one of Adriana's set cards flipped up.

"I play my face-down, Backfire. When a fire attribute monster I control is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, this kicks off 500 of your life-points." Nisashi cut down Foxfire, which exploded in a burst of flames that flew over to Christine and Jeremy, taking away some of their life-points.

Christine/Jeremy: 8000-7500

"Okay, but when a monster equipped with Spirit of the Six Samurai destroys one of your monsters in battle, I can draw an extra card. And since Summoner's on the field with him, Nisashi can attack twice per turn. So he'll be going after Masked Dragon." The green samurai warrior spun around and swung his sword at the crouching dragon, cutting it in the neck.

"Thanks to Masked Dragon's ability, when he's destroyed in battle, I can summon a dragon type monster from my deck with up to 1500 attack points. And I choose Element Dragon." A red skinned dragon with a beige underbelly and greenish wings appeared in front of Jason. (4/**1500**/1200)

"Fine with me. I end my turn with a face-down."

"At the end phase of a turn when Foxfire is destroyed by battle, it's automatically summoned back to my field." The small fox rose again on Adriana's field. (2/300/**200**)

"By the way…" Jason spoke up. "As long as there's a fire attribute monster on the field, Element Dragon gains 500 attack points." (4/**1500-2000**/1200)

"My turn now," Adriana announced. "And I summon Solar Flare Dragon in defense mode." An oriental dragon made of lava and fire with two horns on its head appeared in a burst of flames next to Foxfire. (4/1500/**1000**) "For his effect, as long as I control another pyro type monster, you're not allowed to attack him. And during each of my end phases, he takes away 500 of your life-points. So I'll set this little number face-down and let your life-points burn." The tomboyish girl's dragonic monster spat out a burst of flames that further lowered Jeremy and Christine's life-points.

Christine/Jeremy: 7500-7000

"Since Foxfire will just keep coming back and inflicting more damage whenever he's destroyed, I'll just have Dark Crusader attack Element Dragon instead." Christine's dark warrior raised his sword and charged at Element Dragon.

As this happened, Jason pressed a button on his duel disk, activating his face-down card. "I play Shift to switch your attack over to Foxfire." Dark Crusader then deviated from his original target and sliced up the small fox. "Hope you didn't mind me doing that, Ana."

"No problem Jay, especially since another 500 of their life-points go up in flames."

Christine/Jeremy: 7000-6500

"I play a monster in defense mode, as well as a card face-down and end my turn." 'This could be a problem,' the blue haired girl thought to herself as the fiery fox re-appeared. (2/300/**200**) 'Every time we destroy Foxfire, Backfire keeps taking down our life-points, and Foxfire's ability keeps bringing it back from the graveyard. But, if my next move works out, I should be able to give Jeremy a change to attack without losing any points, not to mention that I'll probably get rid of a few other threats along the way.'

'Man, these two are good,' Jeremy said in his mind. 'They really work well together, and they're sure giving Christine and me a hard time. We'll have to work as a team to beat em.'

"My turn… I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4." A burst of black flames appeared before Jason, from which a metallic, bird like creature stepped out. (4/**1600**/1000)

"A level monster?" Jeremy spoke up. "This can't be good."

"It gets worse," Adriana declared. "I play Enemy Controller, to force Dark Crusader into defense mode."

"I chain my face-down, Dark Illusion," Christine countered. "This negates the effect of any card that targets a dark attribute monster and destroys it."

"Not so fast. I reveal my other face-down, Counter Counter. This negates the effect of a counter trap card and destroys it. Although the name is kind of a hint."

"Hint this," Jeremy interrupted as his set card flipped up. "I play Musakani Magatama. As long as I have a six samurai monster out on my field, this lets me negate an effect that would destroy a one or more cards and destroy the card responsible."

"Nice counter," Jason complimented his opponents. "Ana, can you spare me your Solar Flare Dragon?"

"Just make sure you put him to good use."

"That's just what I'll do. I play Gift of the Martyr. So by sacrificing Solar Flare Dragon, Horus gains a boost equal to its attack points." Solar Flare Dragon turned into a mass of orange light that went into the body of Jason's dragon, almost doubling its attack points. (4/**1600-3100**/1000) "Now destroy Dark Crusader with Black Flame Breath." Horus reared its head back and spat out a torrent of black fire, incinerating Dark Crusader.

Christine/Jeremy: 6500-5900

"Then I'll have Element Dragon attack Six Samurai Summoner." Element Dragon let out a burst of flames at Jeremy's named monster, although he survived unscathed.

"Sorry, but as long as he's got his effect, summoner can avoid destruction once per turn."

"Guess I should've gone after the other guy. Oh well, I'll throw this card face-down and end my turn, which means that since Horus destroyed a monster in battle, he evolves into Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6." Jason's monster turned into a ball of black fire, which grew until a more impressive form of the original dragon was standing before them. (6/**2300**/1600)

"Alrighty then, it's my turn."

"Sorry to interrupt, Jeremy," Christine spoke up. "But I play my face-down, Call of the Haunted, to bring back Darknight Parshath." A fairy similar to Airknight Parshath rose on the field, safe that its lower half was black, its upper half was a light bluish color, it was decked out in dark purple armor, and it had black feathers. (5/19**00**/1400) "Before anyone asks, I sent him to the graveyard for Dark Crusader's effect. Speaking of which, he gains 100 attack points for every dark attribute monster in my grave, plus 500 from Mystic Plasma Zone." (5/**1900-2500**/1400-1000) "Now I activate the Eradicator Epidemic Virus."

"I don't like the sound of this," Adriana commented.

"Well, you're sure not going to like what it does. First, I have to sacrifice a dark attribute monster with at least 2500 attack points, like my powered up Darknight Parshath. Then I choose either spells or traps, and you have to send to the graveyard all of whichever I pick that's on your field, in your hands and that you draw for the next three turns. And I think I'll go with trap cards."

Christine's monster then exploded, the blast destroying Adriana's Backfire and Jason's face-down Negate Attack. Complying with the trap's effect, they both showed their hands, revealing that Jason had Mirage Dragon and a female monster dressed in Egyptian garb, while Adriana had Forbidden Chalice and a monster that was a ball made of glowing embers.

"Nice one," Jeremy said with a grin. "Now it's time for us to make a comeback. First, since two standby phases are up, I can use Reincarnation of Hope's effect to add Great Shogun Shien to my hand. And with two six samurai monsters on my field, I can special summon him." Jeremy's ace card appeared on the field, standing tall over the other two samurais. (7/**2500**/2400) "Now I play Six Samurai United, which gains a bushido counter when a six samurai monster is summoned. Next up, I use Summoner's effect to bring out the Six Samurai Irou." The dark samurai rose on the field next to his leader, giving him a respectful bow. (4/**1700**/1200) "Since he's a dark attribute monster, he gets a boost from Mystic Plasma Zone." (4/**1700-2200**/1200-800) "That said, it's time to attack. Nisashi, take out her Foxfire." The green armored warrior threw one of his swords at Adriana's monster, thus defeating it. "Irou, destroy Element Dragon." Irou dashed at its target, stabbing it in the chest with his sword.

Adriana/Jason: 8000-7800

"Great Shogun Shien, send Horus packing with Great Master's Blade." Shien gave out a war cry and charged at the enemy dragon, cutting it in half with a powerful swing of his blade.

Adriana/Jason: 7800-7600

"Nisashi, let er rip." The warrior in question then charged at the Obelisk boy, who blocked the incoming sword with his duel disk, though not without taking damage.

Adriana/Jason: 7600-5700

"With that out of the way, since I haven't normal summoned this turn, I can bring Six Samurai Apprentice to Adriana's field." The teenage warrior appeared before the Obelisk girl, sitting down with his legs crossed. (3/900/**1400**) "One face-down and that'll be all." With Jeremy's turn over, Foxfire came back next to the young samurai warrior. (2/300/**200**)

"My turn." Adriana drew her card, which was revealed to be a spell card with the image of an erupting volcano. "I play the field spell Molten Destruction." The dark clouds above them were cleared away as the volcano displayed in the named card's image appeared off to the side. (4/**2200-1700**/800-1200) "It's basically the same thing as Mystic Plasma Zone, except for fire monsters." (2/300-800/**200-0**) FF. (7/**2500-3000**/2400-2000) G.S.S.

"Too bad for you, Great Shogun Shien is a fire monster. So he gets a boost as well."

"I know. So I'll just place one card face-down and end my turn."

"That set's off Six Samurai Apprentice's effect. During your end phase, you lose 300 life-points for every six samurai on my field, and 400 for every Shien monster. And since I have three six samurais, and my Shogun, you get hit for 1300 points of damage." The teenage warrior stood up, spun around and struck Adriana's duel disk with his long hunting knife.

Adriana/Jason: 5700-4400

"My turn again," Christine announced. "I play Card of Demise, so I draw until I have five cards in my hand. Then I flip summon Night Assailant." The blue haired girl's face-down monster flipped-up, revealing a ghostly, grim reaper like figure wielding a long serpentine sword. (3/**200**/500) "And when he's flipped up, I can destroy a monster you control. So say goodbye to Foxfire." Christine's monster dashed forward, cutting down the small orange fox.

"Not a bad move," Adriana complimented her. "Now Foxfire won't come back since it wasn't destroyed by battle."

"I know, and now I'll play Cost Down, getting rid of another card in my graveyard to downgrade all monsters in my hand by two levels. Which means I only need to sacrifice Night Assailant in order to summon Diabolos, King of the Abyss." Night Assailant faded away and was replaced by an imposing and wicked looking black and metallic gray armored dragon with crimson wings. (5/**2800**/1000)

"I reveal my trap, By the Order of the Shogun," Jeremy spoke up. "Since Great Shogun Shien is on my field in attack mode, this lets me pick a monster on my opponent's field and return it to the owner's hand, provided its attack points are equal or lower than Shien's original attack." Six Samurai Apprentice stood up and vanished, returning to Jeremy's hand. "Plus, as a bonus, for every level it had, I can place one bushido counter on any compatible card."

"And since your field's empty, here comes a direct attack." Christine's dragon reared its head back, unleashing a dark blast of energy directly at Adriana.

Adriana/Jason: 4400-1600

"Then I'll call it a turn with one face-down." (5-7/**2800**/1000)

"You alright there, Ana?" Jason asked.

"I'm fine, but our life-points aren't looking so good," she replied. "We've got to pick up the pace, or else we'll lose before long."

"I know. So let's get at er."

"Hold that thought for a moment," Christine interrupted. "Thanks to my dragon's effect, during your draw phase, before you actually pick up a card, I get to see what it is, and choose to leave it be, or put it on the bottom of your deck." Jason picked up his top card and showed it to Christine. "Monster Reborn… I think I'd rather see that card at the bottom of your deck."

"Very well then." Jason placed his spell at the bottom of his deck, then drew the next card. It turned out to be Mirror Force, which he was forced to get rid of due to Eradicator Epidemic Virus. "I summon Horus' Priestess." An Egyptian woman wearing a white cloak with a golden sun on the back and a helmet made to look like Horus' head rose up before Jason, gaining a little attack power from the field spell. (4/**1000-1500**/1000-600) "Now she'll go after the Six Samurai Nisashi."

"You must be up to something, cause even with Molten Destruction, she still doesn't have enough attack points to go up against my samurai," Jeremy pointed out as the female monster extended a hand forward, launching a beam of golden energy that Nisashi backhanded, the attack destroying Jason's monster.

"You're right about that. You see, not only do I take no damage when she battles a monster with 2000 attack points or less, but when she's destroyed in battle, I get to summon a Horus monster from my graveyard. So come on back, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 6." Horus appeared on the field once again, in his second and more powerful form. (6/**2300-2800**/1600-1200) "The only downside is that after this effect resolves, I have to get rid of my entire hand." Complying with the effect, Jason discarded his Mirage Dragon.

"It's time to reveal my face-down," Adriana butt in. "Go, Forbidden Chalice. So by giving Six Samurai Summoner an extra 400 attack points, his effect is negated for the rest of the turn." Jeremy's summoner gained a few attack points, but lost his aura. (2/500-900/**600**) "And that means he can't save himself. Take it to em, will ya Jay?"

"You heard the lady, Horus. Attack the Six Samurai Summoner with Mega Flame Breath." The powerful dragon spat out a torrent of black fire that destroyed Jeremy's weakest monster. "That ends my turn. And I think you can guess what happens next…" Horus was enveloped in a mass of dark flames, which grew and the monster itself became bigger. A roar burst out from the flames once they stopped growing, causing them to fan out on Jason's field, revealing his newest creature, which was taller than Great Shogun Shien and Diabolos. (8/**3000-3500**/1800) "Meet Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8."

"Big monster…" Jeremy said, sounding impressed. "Well… since I haven't got any guys strong enough to beat him, I'll switch all my monsters to defense mode and set one card face-down." (7/3000/**2000**) G.S.S. (4/1900/**1200**) S.S.N. (4/1700/**1200**) S.S.I.

Adriana then drew, and showed a spell card with a demon like creature in the middle of a blazing fire. "I summon Glowing Embers in defense mode" A floating ball of embers appeared in mid-air before the tomboyish girl. (4/0-500/**2000-1600**) "Then I play Aetonix Flame. First, I select one fire or fiend monster in my graveyard. Then, all non-fire and non-fiend monsters on my opponent's field are destroyed, and I get to summon the monster I selected."

"I play Mystic Wok, sacrificing my Shogun to get a 3000 points boost." Jeremy's Shogun faded away as his spell card emitted a gentle aura.

"Sorry, but as long as Horus LV8 is on the field, I can negate the activation of any spell card I want and destroy it. And since I don't want to make it too easy for you guys, you're not getting any of those extra life-points."

"I'll chain my own face-down, Dark Spirit Art – Greed," Christine said. "This sacrifices a dark monster I have out on the field and lets me draw two cards. You can negate it by revealing a spell card you're holding, but that shouldn't be a problem since both your hands are empty." Christine's dragon vanished off the field, letting her draw two cards. Black flames then enveloped Jeremy's spell, which was destroyed, along with Irou and Nisashi's new armor.

(4/1900-1400/**1200-700**) "Because his effect, Spirit of the Six Samurai takes the hit instead of Nisashi."

"But now that my spell's resolved, I get to summon back Solar Flare Dragon." (4/**1500-2000**/1000-600) "And thanks to Glowing Embers, I can draw a card whenever anyone summons one or more fire attribute monsters. Then I play Fire Whip. Since Irou was the only who ended up getting destroyed by Aetonix Flame, he gets summoned to my field as a fire attribute monster." Jeremy's dark samurai appeared on Adriana's field, except that his eyes were glowing red. (4/**1700-2200**/1200) The Obelisk girl then drew Double Attack due to Glowing Embers' effect. "Fortunately for you, because of Aetonix Flame, I have to skip my battle phase. So I'll end my turn and let Solar Flare Dragon burn some more of your life-points."

Christine/Jeremy: 5900-5400

"Let's see here…" Christine muttered as she drew. "I place this card face-down and end my turn."

"I play Pot of Greed, to draw two new cards. And since Eradicator Epidemic Virus is all used up, I don't have to get rid of my traps, not that I drew any. Now I summon Masked Dragon." The named monster appeared next to its much taller fellow dragon. (3/**1400-1900**/1100-700) "And since I have a dragon type monster in play, I can play Dragon's Gunfire, and activate one of two effects. In this case, destroying a monster with 800 defense points or less. Such as the Six Samurai Nisashi." Masked Dragon let out a burst of fire that defeated the green armored warrior. "Now I'll wrap things up with a double direct attack."

"Not so fast," Christine interrupted, flipping up her set card. "Since you're attacking directly, I can play Dark Shining Wall. Up to twice per turn, this lets me remove a dark monster from my graveyard in order to negate one of your attacks." Christine picked up Diabolos and Darknight Parshath from her graveyard, at which a wall of dark purple glass appeared before the young couple, protecting them from the two dragons' attacks.

"Not bad. I end my turn."

"I summon Shien's Footsoldier in defense mode." Jeremy's spirit monster crouched down in front of its master, giving him a reassuring nod. (2/700/**300**) "That's all."

"I play my own Pot of Greed. Then I summon Ultimate Baseball Kid." A short boy dressed in a red baseball outfit and helmet materialized on the field, wielding a spiky, bluish bat. (3/**500-1000**/1000-600)

"_Hiya!_" he exclaimed upon making his appearance. "_So, whose butt am I kicking now? How about you, pipsqueak?_"

"_Pipsqueak?_" Jeremy's duel spirit asked, sounding offended. "_You're one to talk, short stack!_"

"Hold on a second, Kid," Adriana said. "Don't get into a fight until I tell you to."

"_Fine, but don't wait too long._"

"So… I'm guessing he must be your duel spirit," Christine noted.

"Yeah, Kid can sure be a handful sometimes."

"Sounds kinda like Buddy here," Jeremy said, indicating his monster.

"I'd say. Now, although Kid starts out small, he gains 1000 attack points for every other fire attribute monster on the field."

"_Oh yeah, baby! I've got the power!_" (3/**1000-6000**/600)

"And for good measure, I'll equip him with Salamandra, further boosting his attack points by 700." The short warrior's baseball bat changed into a wide sword with a blue blade and hilt, and a golden guard. (4/**6000-6700**/600) "Next I play the spell Double Attack, sending Familiar-Possessed – Hiita from my hand to the grave so that he can attack twice this turn. Now take out Shien's Footsoldier."

"_Take this, monkey boy!_" Adriana's monster said as he swung his weapon downward, sending out a flaming, serpent like dragon at Jeremy's defending monster.

"My little guy has a trick of his own," Jeremy said. "When he's destroyed in battle, I can summon a level 3 or below six samurai monster from my deck. And I choose the Six Samurai Yaichi." The yellow armored samurai appeared before its master, standing on one knee with his arms crossed. (3/1300/**800**)

"No problem. My baseball kid will take him out too." The baseball boy swung his sword again, destroying the defending monster. "Now Irou and Solar Flare Dragon attack you directly."

"I remove Dark Crusader and Night Assailant to stop them in their tracks." Christine took the two monsters from her graveyard, which caused the dark glass wall to appear, blocking the two monsters' attacks.

"Here's where it gets good. I play Mischief of the Time Goddess, meaning the duel skips to my next battle phase, no questions asked. So now I can attack with all my monsters once again." Ultimate Baseball Kid sent out another flaming dragon, while Irou dashed forward with his sword at the ready, and Solar Flare Dragon spat out a stream of fire.

"I discard Kuriboh to negate the damage from your first attack." The small furry monster materialized in front of the short warrior's attack, stopping it right then and there, before disappearing. "Then I'll remove him, as well as the Vorse Raider I got rid of to play Cost Down, so that Dark Shining Wall can block your other attacks as well." The dark glass wall appeared once again to block Irou and Solar Flare Dragon.

"You just won't give up, will you?"

"Not a chance."

"Okay then, I end my turn. But don't forget, you lose another 500 life-points because of Solar Flare Dragon's effect."

Christine/Jeremy: 5400-4900

Christine pondered for a moment as she looked at the cards in her hand. 'Alright, I should be able to keep us in the game until Jeremy's turn comes around. Even with Card of Demise's effect, he's still got Six Samurai United to pick up a new hand. I'll just have to hope that he gets something good, or we'll be finished.' "I place two cards face-down and that's all."

"My turn then," Jason announced. "And since you don't have any dark monsters left in your graveyard, you can't use your trap to negate anymore attacks. Horus, attack with Giga Dark Flare." The towering dragon reared its head back and spewed forth a huge torrent of black fire, striking both Christine and Jeremy.

Christine/Jeremy: 4900-1400

"Masked Dragon, finish em."

"I play Emergency Provisions. So I'll sacrifice Dark Shining Wall and increase our life-points by a thousand."

Christine/Jeremy: 1400-2400

Jason's smaller dragon then spat out a burst of fire which took another chunk out of Christine and Jeremy's life-points.

Christine/Jeremy: 2400-900

"One card face-down and it's your move, Jeremy."

"Alright then," Jeremy said, drawing his next card. "Well, since five of our standby phases have gone by, Card of Demise forces me to get rid of all the cards in my hand." The blond Slifer then discarded the cards he was holding, complying with Card of Demise's effect. "Fortunately, I've got one card left on the field."

"Make that none. I play Dust Tornado to destroy Six Samurai United." A menacing tornado came out from Jason's trap card, heading towards Jeremy's field.

"Not gonna happen," Christine spoke up. "I chain Destruction Jammer. So by sending one card from my hand to the grave, I can negate Dust Tornado and destroy it." The incoming whirlwind suddenly vanished into nothingness. "And that's not all. Since one of my counter traps just negated your effect, I can summon Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord." The dark, majestic and imposing humanoid dragon stood tall on two legs, rivalling Horus in height. (8/**2800**/2500) "And since it was a trap that I negated, his effect destroys one card on your field. So say goodbye to Horus LV8." The dragon lord then gathered crackling blue energy in his fist, and threw a punch, sending it out in a blast that obliterated his rival dragon.

"Alright! Way to go Christine!" Jeremy cheered.

"You're welcome," she replied, smiling a little. "Now how about ending this duel?"

"You got it. First, I send Six Samurai United to the graveyard in order to draw seven cards since it had that many bushido counters." Jeremy placed his spell in the graveyard and drew seven cards. "But as it turns out, I'll only need three of them. First, I play Silent Doom to summon back Izura, Shien's Guard." The blond warrior woman sat down with her legs crossed, holding a crossbow in her hands. (5/0/**3000**) "Next I'll activate her effect, sending the Six Samurai Zanji from my hand to the graveyard in order to pick up Great Shogun Shien. And when she's on my field in face-up defense mode, I can summon him from my hand just like that." The tall, red armored warlord rose again, next to Izura, giving her a respectful nod which she returned. (7/**2500-3000**/2400-2000) "Finally, I'll equip him with Sacred Cleansing Blade." Shien's weapon then became longer, elegant and more deadly looking, with a sleek silver blade, golden guard, and ivory hilt.

"That all looks very impressive," Jason commented. "But even with 3000 attack points, he still isn't powerful enough to knock us down."

"But here's the kicker. His new sword comes with two effects. The first lets me select one card on your field and if it's face-up, I can negate its effects for the rest of the turn. So I'll shut down Salamandra." Shien raised his new sword in the air, causing the opposing warrior's weapon to power off, no longer giving its owner a boost. (3/**6700-6000**/600)

"Not to state the obvious, but you really should have gone after Kid's effect instead," Adriana noted.

"That's where the second effect comes in. When the monster equipped battles one of your guys, the monster it's fighting has all its effects negated until the end of the battle phase."

"And that means it's game over," Christine pointed out.

"Great Shogun Shien, attack Ultimate Baseball Kid and end this duel."

"_Aww nuts!_" Adriana's monster whined as its attack points fell down dramatically. (3/**6000-1000**/600) "_Guess this is it then._" Shien then came charging in, overpowering the smaller warrior with a single swing of his blade.

Adriana/Jason: 1600-0

"That was a sweet duel," Jason complimented their opponents as the holograms disappeared.

"You two are something fierce," Adriana added. "Enduring all those attacks in a row and then pulling off a surprise victory."

"One thing's for sure," Jeremy spoke up. "It wouldn't have been possible without a team effort."

"Yeah, you guys were pretty good," Christine pitched in. "And you worked well together."

"I wouldn't mind trying to take down that Horus LV8 of yours by myself," the blond Slifer said to Jason. "You and I should have a one on one duel sometime."

"Totally," the Obelisk boy replied with a grin.

"Well, I think it's time to get going now," Christine suggested. "Shall we part ways?"

"Good idea," Adriana agreed, turning around to go to the girls' dorm. "It is getting kinda late now. Goodnight, boys."

"Later then," Jason said, heading off towards the Obelisk boys' dorm.

"See you tomorrow, big guy," Christine waved to her boyfriend.

"Nighty night," he said in return, the two of them parting ways, happy to have had such a fun day.

* * *

So, I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter, and if you'd be so kind, reviews would be appreciated (unless you just write a flame with no real purpose).

By the way, Adriana and Jason are two OC's that were created by RoyalShowstopperXIII.

**Cards I made up:**

Horus' Priestess  
Atk/Def: 1000/1000  
Attr: Fire  
Type: Spellcaster  
Lv: 4  
Effect: You take no battle damage when this card battles a monster with 2000 attack points or less. When this card is destroyed in battle, you can summon one 'Horus the Black Flame Dragon' monster from your graveyard. After this effect has been resolved, you must send all cards in your hand to the graveyard.  
Image: A small woman dressed in Egyptian garb, with a helmet around her head made to look like Horus' head. She wears a white cloak with a golden sun on the back.

Glowing Embers  
Atk/Def: 0/2000  
Attr: Fire  
Type: Pyro  
Lv: 4  
Effect: Whenever a fire attribute monster(s) is summoned (other than 'Glowing Embers'), you can draw one card from your deck.  
Image: A large ball made up of glowing embers.

By the Order of the Shogun  
Normal Trap  
Effect: Select one monster on your opponent's field whose attack points are equal or less than the original attack points of a 'Great Shogun Shien' in attack mode that you control, and return it to its owner's hand. Then you can place one bushido counter for every level it had on any compatible card.  
Image: Shien's Advisor holding a scroll in his hands, reading it to a crowd gathered before him.

Shien's Blessing  
Normal Spell  
Effect: Select two 'six samurai' monster in your graveyard and summon them in defense mode. They must stay in defense mode as long as they remain on the field, and you cannot declare a direct attack for the rest of the turn.  
Image: A samurai warrior kneeling before Great Shogun Shien, who has his hand on his shoulder and is nodding to him with respect.

Sacred Cleansing Blade  
Equip Spell  
Effect: Equip only to a 'Six Samurai' or 'Shien' effect monster you control. When the equipped monster battles a monster your opponent controls, the effects of the monster it battles are negated until the end of the battle phase.  
Once per turn, during your main phase, you can select one spell, trap or monster on your opponent's field. The effect depends on the type of card selected.  
- Face up Spell/Trap/Monster: Negate the effect(s) of the card selected until the end phase.  
- Face down Spell/Trap/Monster: The selected card's effect(s) cannot be activated until the end phase.  
Image: A sword with a long, sleek silver blade, elegant white hilt and golden guard.

**Next chapter: **Two people who happen to know Erik come over to Academy Island at the request of someone from Industrial Illusions.


	50. Arrival of the Maverick Guardians

**Disclaimer: In case the thought hadn't occurred, I don't own Yugioh GX!**

So, this chapter took longer than it should have (seriously, I should've been able to have had it posted a week ago, may be two), but whatever, here it is.

Also, RoyalShowstopperXIII's OC characters, Alister Gates and Erika Parks, will be appearing in this chapter.

And last but not least, thank you to Duelist of Dawn for his ideas which helped this chapter be created.

* * *

The Samurai Kid

By: Patattack

**Arrival of the Maverick Guardians**

During the middle of the day, a helicopter with the logo of Industrial Illusions was flying over the ocean, heading in the direction of the island upon which Duel Academy was located. The chopper had a pilot and co-pilot, and was transporting two passengers in addition. The first was Alister Gates, a well built, jet black haired man with dark red highlight who was wearing a black t-shirt and tan cargo shorts, and the second was Erika Parks a slightly shorter, honey blond haired woman wearing a white tank top, blue jacket and white jeans. "Are we there yet?" the man asked.

"No sir, we're not there yet," the co-pilot answered. "But it shouldn't take us too long before we arrive at destination."

"Quit your whining, Alister," the woman spoke up in a playful, reprimanding tone. "You have to be patient sometimes, just like in duel monsters."

"I know, Erika," he replied. "But everyone has to let out their inner child once in a while. You should try it, it's good for you."

"No thanks," she said with an amused smile. "You let out your inner child so often it's enough for the both of us."

Alister laughed a little at this. "I wonder how Erik's doing anyway."

"He's probably doing fine. Last time I talked to Eleanor, she said they finally managed to get his father to stop trying to mess with his life."

"I remember you telling me about that. Didn't he have to duel against Bandit Keith to get him to back off?"

"Uh huh, and from what I heard, he beat him to the ground, thanks to the Mavericks. The kid must have gotten pretty good to win against a duelist of Keith's caliber."

"Yeah... You know, it was nice of Pegasus to send us both to Duel Academy," Alister mused, glad to have the opportunity to see Erik again. When he'd told Pegasus about how Erik had been one of the brains behind the idea of making the Mavericks as duel monster cards, the president of Industrial Illusions had insisted that Alister and Erika go to Duel Academy and extend his thanks. If not for his too busy schedule, he would have flown over himself, but still sent a batch of new cards for Alister and Erika to give to Erik as a gift.

"I hope we'll have a chance to duel once we get there," Erika said.

"Me too, but I doubt there'll be any problem with us getting some action, especially since Pegasus told the Chancellor about us coming over. I'm just hoping I can find a good duelist to go up against."

* * *

Over at Duel Academy, Erik Smithson was currently waiting in the infirmary beside his friend Sean, who was sitting upright on one of the beds, looking as good as ever. Sitting on another bed was Julianne Creswell, the Ra Yellow girl who'd formerly been one of the possessed student Shadow Riders. Having woken up a few days ago, the dark haired girl had recovered well, and was currently being checked up on by the school nurse, Ms. Fontaine, while Lyna was standing nearby. "How're you feeling anyway?" Erik asked his friend

"As if I could run a marathon. Too bad Atticus isn't feeling the flow quite yet," Sean pointed to Alexis' brother, who was getting better, and had woken up a few times, even though he was currently sleeping.

"It may take him a while longer," Julianne piped up. "After all, the Shadow Realm hit him hardest, what with Nightshroud having the kind of grip on him that he did."

"Don't worry," Ms. Fontaine reassured them all. "With his strength of will, I'm certain he'll get better soon enough." The Obelisk girls' headmistress then turned to pick up a clipboard which she looked at for a moment before addressing her two patients. "Well, both of you seem to be in good shape, so you're free to go."

"Good, I'm glad to be on my own two feet again," Sean said, standing up out of bed.

"You said it," Julianne pitched in.

"By the way, Chancellor Sheppard asked me to hang around with you for a while, to make sure you're alright and to get you back into the flow of things," Lyna said to her fellow Ra student.

"Alright, hope you don't mind lil old me."

"Not a problem, it's always a pleasure to help."

"Before you go running off…" Ms. Fontaine spoke up again. "The Chancellor said he wanted to speak to you both in his office as soon as possible."

"Okay then, let's get at er," Sean declared.

* * *

The two former Shadow Riders made their way from the infirmary to Sheppard's office, along with Erik and Lyna. When they arrived there, they saw the Chancellor himself sitting at his desk, with Crowler standing beside him. "Good to see you two are up on your feet again," Sheppard said as they walked in.

"It's good to be back, Chancellor," Sean replied.

"First things first," Crowler spoke up. "We need you to tell us anything you can of what you remember before and during your time as Shadow Riders. Any additional information could be beneficial."

"Problem is that I can't remember a lot of what happened before, and even less of when I actually was a Shadow Rider," Sean said.

"All I can say is that someone called me over to the Millennium House for an evaluation," Lyna pitched in. "I remember that when I got to the basement, I was swallowed by a bunch of strange black globs, and the rest is pretty much a blur."

"Do you know who called you to the Abandoned Dorm?" Sheppard asked.

Julianne shook her head in response. "Unfortunately, no. My PDA didn't show the person's face or number, and their voice sounded like it was synthesized."

"Still, I do remember that there were ten Shadow Riders in total," Sean cut in. "And the only possessed students were me, Julianne and Atticus."

"Then that'd mean there're only four of them left," Erik calculated. "At least now we know that we shouldn't have to worry about them for much longer."

"I wish we could know more about them, but I suppose we'll have to make with what we've got," the Chancellor spoke up. "Now, since you went missing early, you'll have to repeat your third year," he said to Julianne. "As for you," he turned his attention to Sean. "Given that you went missing later in the year, you'll be able to re-integrate into your classes and finish your first year without much trouble."

"Also, the two of you will be evaluated in the next few days so that we may assess your dueling skills," Crowler informed them. "In the meantime, we'll get you settled into your dorms."

"I'll be looking forward to it," Julianne said.

"Me too," Sean added.

* * *

Later on in the day, Alister and Erika had finally arrived at Duel Academy. "Finally!" Alister exclaimed as he stepped out of the helicopter. "That was a long ride."

"At least we've finally arrived," Erika said. "Any idea where we're supposed to go now?"

"Not sure... let's just go inside and try to find someone to lead us to the Chancellor's office." The two of them walked into the main building and eventually came across Crowler. "Excuse me, miss," Alister spoke up.

"I have a PhD in dueling, so that's Dr. to you," he shot back, his face twitching in annoyance.

"Oh, sorry about that, buddy."

"And what might you be doing here?"

"I work at Industrial Illusions, and Maximillion Pegasus sent us here on his behalf."

"Ah, you must be Alister Gates and Erika Parks, yes?" Crowler said, taking on a friendlier tone. "Chancellor Sheppard is expecting you. Follow me, if you please." The two of them followed the blond man as he led them down the hallway. "I'm Dr. Velian Crowler, professor at Duel Academy and headmaster of Obelisk Blue."

"PhD in dueling?" Alister said. "That must mean you've got some talent."

"Of course I do."

The three of them then walked into Sheppard's office. "Hi there," Erika greeted him. "You must be Chancellor Sheppard."

"Indeed I am," he replied with a friendly smile on his face. "Pegasus informed me that you'd be coming today. Though I am curious as to why he sent you."

"Well, that's cause he wanted us to extend his thanks to Erik for helping with the creation of the new maverick cards that came out not that long ago," Alister explained. "Plus, we know him well enough, so we wanted to come for a visit anyway."

"Oh, I see. Would you like me to call him here?"

"Nah, that's okay," Erika said. "We can go find him ourselves."

"Very well then. I believe he should be around the cafeteria. If you need directions, feel free to ask whoever you come across and I'm sure they'll be happy to help."

"Thanks, and pleasure meeting you."

* * *

After leaving Sheppard's office behind, Alister and Erika decided to go their own ways. While Alister went to go look around by himself, Erika made her way over to the cafeteria to find Erik. She walked along in the hallway by herself, until she finally arrived, and spotted her 'target' sitting at a table beside Sean and opposite Zane. With a bit of a devious smile, she snuck up behind Erik, while gesturing for the elder Truesdale brother to keep quiet, then placed her hands over Erik's eyes. "Guess who?"

"You've gotta be kidding me," the brunette Obelisk boy said. "How on earth did you come here, Erika?"

"Wow, you're good," she commented, taking her hands off and sitting down at his other side. "So how're you doing, kiddo?"

"I take it you know her?" Sean noted.

"Of course he does. Aren't you going to introduce me to your pals?"

"Yes, yes, I was getting to that. Guys, this is Erika Parks, a friend of my mom, and me too, I guess."

"You guess?" she asked, a playful tone to her voice.

"Erika... my friend Sean, and this guy's Zane Truesdale," Erik spoke up, ignoring her question.

"Erika Parks…" Zane muttered. "Part time pro-league machine duelist, right?"

"Yep, that's me."

"What're you doing here anyway? And did Alister come along as well?"

"Actually, you're pretty much the reason we got to come around here. You see, when Alister told his boss that you were one of the brains behind the idea of having Mavericks as duel monster cards, he wanted to fly over himself, but sadly didn't have the time. So he sent the two of us over to say thanks in his place."

"Wow, that's nice of him," Erik commented.

"Speaking of which, I happen have a little gift for you from Mr. Pegasus himself." She then gave Erik a small box that he opened up, revealing the cards the president of Industrial Illusions had decided to give as a gift.

"Sweet cards!" Sean said as he peeked over.

"Nice…" Zane added as he got a look at them.

"Cool, and thanks."

"You're welcome. So, how are things nowadays?"

* * *

Over in another part of Duel Academy's main building, Brian Fleming, a first year Slifer Red student who was acquainted with Jaden, Jeremy and their friends, was walking along by himself when he happened upon Syrus and Chumley. "Hey guys, what's up?" he called out to them.

"To be honest, nothing much," the Koala duelist replied.

"No word yet from Jaden, I assume?"

Syrus merely shook his head in response. "Haven't heard anything since he went off with The Admiral."

"Excuse me," Alister spoke up, stopping his tracks as he was passing by. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but did you guys say something about 'The Admiral'?"

"Yeah," Chumley answered. "But, um, who are you?"

"I know you," Brian spoke up. "I've seen you dueling in the pro league before. You're Alister Gates."

"The one and only," he replied proudly.

"Cool. I'm Brian Fleming, and these guys are Chumley Huffington and Syrus Truesdale."

"Nice to meet you guys. So, about 'The Admiral', you mean some crazy fat guy who has a submarine and acts like a pirate?"

"You've seen him before?" Syrus asked.

"No, but I've heard enough about this guy. A certifiable nut job from what I've been told. Did he come around here lately or something?"

"He sailed in two days ago," Chumley explained. "He dueled against one of our classmates, Jaden, and lost. But then Jaden left to go to the Admiral's new Duel Academy for some reason."

"Ah, and I'm guessing you guys suspect he must've tricked your friend into going with him or something like that, right?" Syrus and Chumley nodded in response. "I see… well, a guy who told me about the Admiral said that there's a site on the internet about a new up and coming Duel Academy, so you might want to check that out." Alister pulled out a pen and pad of paper and wrote on it for a few seconds before taking the page off and passing it to the three Slifers. "If you're handy with computers, this could help find your friend Jaden."

"I'm a veteran computer geek," Brian said, taking the piece of paper. "So I can look into this."

"Good, good. On another note, that guy Dr. Crowler…"

"Not sure if 'guy' is really the most appropriate word to use for describing him," Brian joked, causing them all to laugh a little.

"Good one. Anyway, just wondering, is he much of a good duelist?"

"That's sort of debatable," Chumley said. "He's had his fair share of loses, and he's gotten overconfident before."

"And he looks down on most us that are in Slifer," Syrus pitched in. "But then again, Chazz was kind of like that before, and he's still a pretty good duelist, so Crowler ought to be a decent challenge."

"Excellent. Well, it was nice meeting you all, and I wish you the best of luck in finding your friend."

"Where are you running off to, if you don't mind me asking?" Brian wondered.

"I want a chance to duel someone before I have to leave this island," Alister replied, turning around and walking away.

* * *

Not so long afterwards, Alister finally made his way over to the cafeteria, where Erika, Zane, Sean and Erika were still hanging out with each other. "Hiya, kiddo," he called out to the brunette Obelisk boy, who greeted him back, introducing him to the others, and the others to him. He sat down at the table with them and embarked wholeheartedly into the conversation, making even the normally stoic Zane crack a small smile with his occasional, somewhat childish antics.

"So, Alister…" Erik spoke up at one point, smirking a little. "I guess you're still chickening out, aren't you."

"Err… what're you talking about?"

"You two have been living together for how long? Six years, isn't it? And despite everything, all the obviousness, you still haven't manned up and gotten down on your knee before Erika? What's stopping you? You know you want to, and I'm sure she does too."

The couple in question blushed a little in embarrassment at this. "Yeah, well… And I suppose you've got a girlfriend already?"

Erik blinked a few times, realizing that he had him at that. "… Shut up." Muttering in discontent as the others chuckled in amusement at him, the Obelisk boy in question picked up his PDA as he indicated an incoming message, unexpectedly, from Dr. Crowler. Reading it over, he saw that it asked if Alister were with him, and if so, asked that he come to the main dueling arena. "Hey Al, did you bump shoulders with Dr. Crowler or something?"

"Eh, not really, unless you count calling him Miss, but I kind of got the impression from you guys that I'm not the only one that's done that. Maybe he just wants to duel against a famous professional duelist like myself."

Erika rolled her eyes at his exaggerated opinion of himself. "Well, why don't we go check it out, big guy?"

Erik sent a reply saying that they were on their way, and then they all stood up and walked towards the arena, where they found Dr. Crowler standing in front of the elevated platform. "So, what's up Doc?" Alister asked.

"I'll be frank, Mr. Gates, and pardon my rudeness, but you've given me the impression of being a low level slacker who doesn't quite takes things seriously and gets by on luck." Erik raised a questioning eyebrow at this, as did Zane and Alister himself, while Sean seemed a little surprised, and Erika appeared slightly offended, though Crowler ignored all this. "However, I have heard of your reputation, and I'm inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt. Therefore, if you'll agree to take me on in a duel here and now, I'll be able to determine whether or not you really are a slacker. As they say, you best know a person when you duel them. So, feeling up to the challenge?"

"Hey, I don't need an excuse for a duel," Alister shot back, grinning a little in anticipation. "I just hope you put up a good fight."

"Well, we'll see about that, now won't we?" The two of them readied their gear, inserted their decks and made their way onto the platform.

"Let's get this show on the road already," Alister said as they both activated their disks and drew their starting hands.

Alister: 4000

Crowler: 4000

"Mind if I start things off?" Alister asked.

"By all means," Crowler replied.

"Excellent. I play the spell, Guardian Treasure. First, I have to discard five cards from my hand, then I get to draw two more. Next I'll play a monster in defense mode, one card face-down and it's your turn."

"Very well, I play the field Spell Geartown." The surroundings then became a town filled with old run gears and run down machinery. "Now both of us can summon Ancient Gear Monsters with one less sacrifice than would normally be required. So I summon Ancient Gear Beast." Crowler's mechanical canine let out a howl as it materialized on the field. (6/**2000**/2000) "Now sic em, boy." The metal canine crouched a little and leapt towards Alister's field. The target of its attack was then revealed to be a blue, humanoid demon with a mane of wild red hair. (4/500/**2200**)

"Unfortunately for you, my Backup Guardna's a little too tough for your beast to sink its teeth into." Alister's demonic monster grabbed the incoming metal dog and flung it back to Crowler's side of the field.

Crowler: 4000-3800

"Looks like Crowler got a little too hasty and it cost him," Zane commented.

"Who'd you think's gonna win?" Sean asked Erik.

"I won't rule out the possibility of Crowler putting up a decent fight, but I've got my money on Alister," was the reply.

"Not bad, just got a little ahead of myself there," Crowler muttered. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"By the way, thanks to Guardian Treasure, I'm allowed to draw twice during my draw phase." Alister then picked up two cards from his deck and smiled at what he now held. "Sweet… I play Butterfly Dagger – Elma." A green dagger with a butterfly like hilt appeared in Backup Guardna's hand. (4/500-800/**2200**) "And with that on the field, I can summon Guardian Elma." The next monster to hit the field was a red headed woman wearing a green butterfly vest, short red skirt, and with a white veil attached to her arms. (3/**1300**/1200) "When she's summoned, I can give her an equip spell that's in my graveyard. Such as the Black Pendant that I sent there for Guardian Treasure's effect." A necklace with a dark jewel appeared around Elma's neck, boosting her attack points. (3/**1300-1800**/1200)

"Even so, your monster still doesn't have enough attack points," Crowler pointed out.

"But guess what? Backup Guardna's effect allows me to take one equip card on the field and equip it to another appropriate target. And seeing how it is her weapon, I'll give Butterfly Dagger to Elma." The dagger disappeared from Backup Guardna's hand and re-appeared in Elma's. (3/**1800-2100**/1200) "Now she's got just enough points to knock off your Ancient Gear Beast. So let her rip." Elma dashed forward and swung with her dagger at the neck of Crowler's monster, slicing its head off.

Crowler: 3800-3700

"I play my trap, Damage Condenser. So all I have to do is send one card from my hand to the grave, then I get to summon a monster from my deck with attack points equal or less than the damage I just took. Like my Ancient Gear." A monster that was, like the name suggested, a gear, took its place on the field. (2/**100**/800)

"Alright then, I'll call it a turn."

"I play Pot of Greed, which of course, lets me draw two more cards. And since Geartown is still in play, I only need a single sacrifice to summon Ancient Gear Golem." Crowler's Ancient Gear faded away and was replaced by his signature monster. (8/**3000**/3000)

"Not a bad move on his part," Sean noted. "He's certainly putting that field spell to good use."

"I'm still confident Alister has things under control," Erika said.

"Let's just see how he responds," Zane muttered.

"I know I can't use any spells or traps when your Golem attacks," Alister spoke up. "So I'll just have to play my trap right now, Guardian Defense. By destroying a spell that's equipped to a Guardian monster I control, while you have a monster with more attack points than any of mine, this makes all my monsters invulnerable to destruction by battle until the end of this turn." Elma's dagger suddenly disappeared, though the Guardian duelist put the card back in his hand instead of the graveyard. (3/**2100-1800**/1200) "Furthermore, when Butterfly Dagger is destroyed and sent to the graveyard when it's equipped to a monster, I can put it right back in my hand."

"Your monsters may be invincible, but your life-points most certainly are not. Golem, attack his Guardian Elma." The towering hunk of metal and machinery pulled back its fist and punched Elma hard, even though she was still able to remain standing.

Alister: 4000-2800

"I end my turn with three more cards face-down."

"First, I'll my own Pot of Greed. Then I'll place two cards face-down and equip Backup Guardna with Gravity Axe Grarl." A large, double sided stone axe slammed into the ground, with the blue demon picking it up a second later. (4/500-1000/**2200**) "With that on the field, I can summon Guardian Grarl, since he's the only card in my hand." A muscular, bi-pedal humanoid dinosaur came onto the field, wearing a yellow vest and green pants. (5/**2500**/1000)

"A monster with 2500 attack points just like that?" Sean exclaimed. "Man, this guy's good."

"Most of the Guardians need to have a specific equip spell on the field before they can even be summoned," Zane stated. "And if I recall, only one other duelist has ever used this archetype with notable success."

"Sure looks like he knows how to use them," Sean added.

"Now I'll use Guardna's effect so that Grarl can take control of his own weapon." Grarl walked over to Backup Guardna, who handed the axe over to him. (5/**2500-3000**/1000) "To juice em up even more, I'll give Butterfly Dagger to Elma, and Axe of Despair to Grarl." Elma's dagger and a dark, somewhat sinister axe appeared on the field, with Elma grabbing her own weapon, and Grarl the latter. (3/**1800-2100**/1200) G.E. (5/**3000-4000**/1000) G.G. "Grarl, attack his Ancient Gear Golem." The walking Dinosaur charged forward and swung both weapons, cutting Crowler's golem into three pieces that fell down around him. The Obelisk Headmaster mostly managed to keep his composure, despite being a little unnerved at seeing his best monster destroyed.

Crowler: 3700-2900

"You just set off my trap, Card of Last Will. When one of my monsters is destroyed in battle, I get to draw until I'm holding five cards." Crowler drew five cards, and followed up by pressing a button on his disk, causing his second set card to reveal itself, at which a strong wind blew towards Alister's field for a few seconds. "Then I activate my face-down, Dark Wall of Wind. This prevents you from attacking me directly this turn."

"Alright then, go head and make your move."

"Gladly. But before my turn come around, I'll reveal my trap, Stronghold the Moving Fortress. When I play this card, it gets summoned as a monster in defense mode." A giant, metal grey robot kneeled down before Crowler. It was vaguely human shaped, with a single eye centered in its head, and had three holes in its chest, each shaped to fit a large gear. (4/0/**2000**)

"Too bad he'll have to stay in defense, because Gravity Axe stops your monsters from switching battle modes."

"I assure you, he won't remain like that for long. I play Premature Burial, paying a mere 800 life-points to summon a monster from my graveyard, such as the Green Gadget I sent there for Damage Condenser's effect." A short green robot with the center part of its body being a single gear rose up before Crowler. (4/**1400**/600)

Crowler: 2900-2100

"When he's summoned, I can add Red Gadget from my deck to my hand. And now I'll summon him." A similar robot appeared on the field, safe that it was red, and had the gear attached to its back. (4/**1300**/1500) "Thanks to him, I can add Yellow Gadget to my hand, and I'll bring that one to the field by playing Double Summon." A third short robot appeared, this one with a gear on its back and one in its body. (4/**1200**/1200) "And when I control all three Gadget monsters, Stronghold's attack points become 3000." The three Gadget monsters jumped up and fit themselves into the holes in the giant robot's chest, powering it up. (4/0-3000**/2000**)

"Smart move, bringing out one gadget, to pick up the other and summon it," Erik commented. "I'm surprised Crowler hasn't tried these cards out before if he can play them this well."

"Now I play Double Cyclone, which destroys Geartown and your walking dinosaur's precious axe." Two separate cyclones emerged from Crowler's spell card, destroying Gravity Axe and the active field spell. (5/**4000-3500**/1000) "And when Geartown is destroyed, I can summon an Ancient Gear Monster from my hand, deck or graveyard. Rise, Ancient Gear Engineer." A monster similar to Ancient Gear Soldier, except that its right arm was a drill, appeared amongst the line of machines. (5/**1500**/1500) "Now I'll place my Moving Fortress in attack mode…" Crowler's giant robot got to its feet and stood at a towering height. (4/**3000**/2000) "And play the field spell, Gaia Power, giving all earth attribute monsters 500 more attack points, at the cost of a measly 400 defense points." The Obelisk Headmaster inserted a card into his field spell slot, causing the field to become a forest of large trees. This in turn caused all of his monsters' points to change, as well as those of Alister's dinosaur. (5/**3500-4000**/1000-600) G.G. (4/**3000-3500**/2000-1600) S.M.F. (5/**1500-2000**/1500-1100) A.G.E. (4/**1400-1900**/600-200) G.G (4/**1300-1800**/1300-900) R.G. (4/**1200-1700**/1200-800) Y.G.

"I can only assume he's got something else planned, given that Grarl is still the strongest monster on the field," Erika pointed out.

"Rest assured, I'm not finished yet. First I play Machine Assembly Line, which gives all machine type monsters 200 more attack points." (4/**3500-3700**/2000) S.M.F. (5/**2000-2200**/1100) A.G.E. (4/**1900-2100**/200) G.G. (4/**1800-2000**/900) R.G. (4/**1700-1900**/800) Y.G. "Now that my Ancient Gear Engineer has enough attack points, he can go after your weaker Guardian. And keep in mind, you can't activate any spell or trap cards when he attacks." Guardian Elma was promptly wiped out as Crowler's machine slammed her with its drill arm.

Alister: 2800-2700

"When Black Pendant is destroyed, you take 500 points of damage," Alister reminded his opponent as he picked up Butterfly Dagger – Elma from his graveyard.

Crowler: 2100-1600

"But when my Engineer attacks, after damage calculation, I can destroy one of your spell or trap cards. So you can say goodbye to Axe of Despair." The Ancient Gear monster then turned to face the walking dinosaur, and slammed his drill arm into its remaining weapon. (5/**4000-3000**/1000) "Now my Moving Fortress is the strongest, which means he can destroy your remaining Guardian." Crowler's giant robot pulled back its arm and threw a punch just as Alister's face-down card revealed itself.

"I play Self Tribute. By paying 1000 life-points when one or more of my monsters would be destroyed, they get to stay on the field. It may be too late for Elma, but Grarl isn't going anywhere."

Alister: 2700-1700

"Even so, you still take damage." Stronghold then struck Grarl with its fist, slamming him to the ground.

Alister: 1700-1000

"I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Dude, when did Crowler get so good?" Sean asked no one in particular.

"Beats me," Erik replied. "Maybe he learned from his defeats."

"Come on, Alister, get your head in the game," Erika called out to her boyfriend.

"Don't worry," he reassured her with a confident smirk. "I'm still in this. So, I play Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two. Then I'll have Guardian Grarl attack your Yellow Gadget."

Crowler grinned a little as Grarl charged towards his field. "That's going to cost you. I reveal my trap card, Divergence. When you attack a machine type monster on my field, I can force you to attack another one, like Stronghold the Moving Fortress." Grarl stopped his lunge in mid-air, and went after Crowler's more powerful robot instead.

"I play Book of Moon to flip Guardian Grarl face-down." The walking dinosaur then disappeared and was replaced by the image of the back of a card. "I end my turn."

"Prepare yourself…" Crowler said as he looked at the card he'd just drawn. "I sacrifice Green Gadget and Yellow Gadget and summon forth… the Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon." The three gadget monsters popped out from Stronghold's chest, with the yellow and green ones exploding in a cloud of dust and parts as they hit the ground. A loud clanking noise could then be heard, until a massive mechanical dragon rose above Crowler's field, letting out a shriek as it spread its wings. (8/**3000-3700**/1600) With the absence of the two gadgets, Stronghold then lost most of its attack points. (4/**3300-700**/1600)

"Impressive monster," Alister commented, though still looking confident enough.

"You don't know the half of it. You see, like my Gear Golem, not only are you unable to activate spells or traps when he attacks, but because Yellow Gadget was one of the tributes, when he destroys a monster in battle, you lose 600 life-points. And more importantly, since I sacrificed Green Gadget, it can do damage even through monsters in defense mode. Now attack, with Mechanized Acid Burst." The metal dragon reared its head back and spat out a stream of corrosive green liquid at Crowler's face-down monster.

"Sorry, but I've got a little something in my graveyard called Rescuer from the Grave. When you declare an attack, I can remove five cards in my graveyard to end the battle phase here and now." The incoming attack promptly dissipated, leaving Alister's field untouched.

"Man, that was a close call," Sean noted.

"Crowler still has the advantage here," Zane pointed out. "Since Divergence is a continuous trap, if Alister tries to go after one of his weaker monsters, he can redirect it towards his dragon. And if Alister summons a monster that's stronger than his dragon, he can have one of his weaker machines take the hit."

"Not a bad try," Crowler admitted. "But this duel will soon be over. I end my turn by placing all my other monsters in defense mode." Stronghold, Ancient Gear Engineer and Red Gadget all took defensive positions. (4/700/**1600**) (4/2000/**900**) (5/2200/**1100**)

"Alright, here goes something," Alister said. He then looked at his two new cards and smiled. "Guess what? You're right about this duel not lasting much longer."

"Sounds like he's got something up his sleeve," Erika noticed. "Take it to im!"

"You got it. First, I play Guardian Revival. By paying 500 life-points, I can bring back one Guardian from my graveyard with 500 more attack points."

Alister: 1000-500

"So come on back, Guardian Elma." The red headed woman appeared on before the Guardian duelist again (3/**1300-1800/**1200) "Now my graveyard is free of monsters, so I can summon Guardian Eatos." A ray of light shined down on Alister's field, from which an eagle appeared, flying down and transforming into a beautiful blond woman with a Native American style of dress upon landing. She wore a brown skin shirt and dress that dropped to her ankles, along with an eagle headdress and white feathery wings. (8/**2500**/2000)

"Wow…" Sean said, stunned by her appearance. "She's beautiful."

"She is indeed," Alister agreed. "But beauty isn't the only thing she's got."

"An impressive monster," Crowler noted. "But not quite on the same level as my dragon."

"She does have a sweet effect. First, I equip her with Butterfly Dagger – Elma." The weapon in question appeared before the angelic woman, who grabbed it after receiving a nod from Elma. (8/**2500-2800**/2000) "Now, by sending a spell that she's equipped with to the graveyard, I can remove up to three monsters from your graveyard, and increase her attack points by 500 for each one." The green dagger disappeared, forcing Crowler's Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Beast and Green Gadget out of his graveyard. (8/**2800-4000**/2000) "Finally, I play Celestial Sword – Eatos." A sword with a silvery blade appeared in Eatos' hand, making her a little stronger. (8/**4000-4300**/2000) "Not only does this give her 300 more attack points, but now she can attack all the monsters you have out on the field."

"Now it doesn't matter if Crowler can redirect Alister's attacks, he'll still lose all his monsters," Zane realized.

"And with Elma at the ready, this one's in the bag," Erika pitched in.

"Time to end this duel," Alister declared. "Eatos, wipe his field clean." The sword wielding woman raised her weapon and swung it down hard, sending forth an arc of energy that destroyed all of Crowler's machines.

Crowler: 1600-1000

"Oh no," Crowler muttered with a certain feeling of dread, knowing he was done for.

"Elma, attack him directly." Elma then dashed forward, punching Crowler in the chest, knocking him onto his back and depleting the rest of his life-points.

Crowler: 1000-0

"Booyah!" Alister cheered as the holograms disappeared. "So guys, was that cool, or was that awesome?"

"It was… okay," Erika answered. She smiled at his deflated expressions, although he regained his cheery attitude a few seconds later.

"Well, I've got to hand it to you, that was a fun match," Alister said to Crowler as he got to his feet.

"Thank you for humoring my request. You are a worthy duelist, Mr. Gates." The Obelisk Headmaster then gave him a respectful nod and walked out of the arena.

"Seems unusual for him to act this nice," Sean noted. "Guess he's not as bad as his reputation."

"Okay Erik, get your stuff ready, cause we're gonna duel right now," Erika spoke up.

"You're pretty eager," the brunette boy commented. "Well, I'll be happy to oblige." The two of them then walked down to the platform at the center of the arena, while Alister made his way to where the others were seated.

Alexis then happened to walk in at that time, along with Jasmine. "Hey, Erik," she greeted him. "Who're you dueling?"

"Oh, hey Alexis. This is a friend, Erika Parks. She and her boyfriend, Alister Gates, came over to the island at the request of Pegasus." Erik then took a moment to explain the circumstances behind this.

"Wow… So, you guys wouldn't mind if we hung around and watched, right?"

"Course not," Erika said, smiling. "The more the merrier."

The two girls then made their way towards where their fellow students and Alister were sitting, while the two duelists strapped on their duel disks and shuffled their decks. "So, umm, what brings you girls here anyway?" Sean asked, apparently a little nervous.

"Oh, we were just passing by when we noticed Erik and figured we'd check it out," Alexis answered.

"So, are you feeling better after all that Shadow Rider stuff?" Jasmine asked the blond Obelisk boy.

"Umm…, fine. Yeah, I'm just fine. In fact, I'm as fine as fine can be." Sean's cheeks reddened a little bit, though he tried to hide it.

Unfortunately for him, Alexis happened to notice this. "Are you sure you're alright? Because you look a little-"

"The duel's starting already!" he piped up, wanting to draw attention away from himself and avoid getting embarrassed even further.

"Ready, kiddo?" Erika asked, inserting her deck.

"Do you really need to ask?" Erik replied.

"Then let's do this!" The two of them then started their disks and drew five cards.

Erik: 4000

Erika: 4000

"I'll kick things off," Erik declared, drawing a sixth card. "By playing Double Summon, allowing me to place this monster face-down and Bokoichi the Freightening Car in defense mode." The train car with a face appeared floating before Erik. (2/500/**500**) "Then I'll play Machine Duplication in order to bring out two more of them." Two more copies of the machine in question materialized next to the first. (2/500/**500**) "That'll be all."

"Alrighty then. I'll set a monster in defense mode and two cards face-down."

"My turn again. First, I play Spell Economics, in order to bypass any life-point cost required to activate a spell card. Next I'll flip summon Dekoichi, the Battlechanted Locomotive." Erik's face-down monster was replaced by a purple, animated and angry looking locomotive. (4/**1400**/1000) "When it's flipped-up, I draw one card, plus an additional card for every Bokoichi on my field, giving me a total of four. Now, time to bring out the big guns. I sacrifice two of my weaker monsters in order to summon Perfect Machine King." Two of the Freightening Cars disappeared, making way for the imposing red and white, humanoid machine. (8/**2700**/1500)

"You just set off my Bottomless Trap Hole. When you summon a monster with 1500 attack points or more, this destroys it and removes it from play."

"Don't think so. I chain My Body as a Shield. When you activate an effect that'd destroy any number of monsters on my field, this negates that effect and destroys the card responsible. And of course, since I have Spell Economics, I don't have to pay a single life-point. And as you might know, Perfect Machine King gains 500 attack points for every other machine type monster on the field." (8/**2700-3700/**1500)

"Nice move," Alexis commented. "Erik just summoned a big monster and countered Erika's trap."

"Not only that, but knowing Erika's deck like I do, that Perfect Machine King will give him an edge," Alister pitched in. "Though I'm sure it'll still be a close match-up."

"Not bad," Erika said, sounding impressed. "So what're you waiting for? Aren't you going to put that super powered machine into gear?"

"All in due time. But first, I'll attack your face-down monster with Dekoichi." The purple locomotive let out a burst of steam and made a beeline for Erika's hidden monster.

"I'm not going to make it that easy for you. I play Command Silencer, to negate your attack, end the battle phase, and draw a card while I'm at it." A totem pole appeared in place of the blond woman's face-down, letting out a high pitched noise that halted Erik's machine in its tracks.

"Alright then… I play Delinquent Duo, so each of us randomly takes a card from your hand and sends them to the graveyard. And of course, Spell Economics allows me to ignore the life-point cost." Erika got rid of half the cards in she was holding. "Two face-downs and that'll be all."

"I like how this is going so far," Sean said. "Can't wait to see how it'll develop."

"Erika is a high caliber pro duelist, though Erik himself is no pushover," Zane noted. "It should be interesting to see how things turn out."

"And I thought deck destruction was my thing," Erika said as she drew a card from her deck. "You should be careful, because when you play with fire, you get burned."

"Bring it on, if you think you've got it in you," Erik shot back in a friendly taunting manner.

"Oh, you can bet I've got it. I'll start by flip summoning my Needle Worm." A purple worm with needles sticking out of its body materialized on Erika's field. (2/**750**/600) "Now the top five cards of your deck go straight to the graveyard." Erik complied with that effect, frowning a little in discontent at the cards he had to get rid of. "Next I'll set two cards face-down and play Card of Demise, which of course, let's me draw until I'm holding five cards, and in that many standby phases I get rid of everything in my hand. But for now, I sacrifice Needle Worm in order to summon the original Machine King." The bulky, red and green armored walking machine took the place of Needle Worm. (6/**2200**/2000) "Even though his presence jacks up your monster's attack points, his go up a little as well." (6/**2200-2600**/2000) M.K. (8/**3700-4200**/1500) P.M.K.

"I can only assume you've got something else up your sleeve," Erik said.

"I don't literally have anything up my sleeve, unlike a certain questionable machine duelist, but I do have the two cards I set down a second ago, 7 Completed and Clockwork Night. So that means my monster gains a total of 1200 extra attack points, while all of yours lose 500." (…) (6/**2600-3800**/2000) M.K. (8/**4200-3700**/1500) P.M.K. (4/**1400-**900/1000) D.B.L (2/500-0/**500**) B.F.C "Now my monster has enough juice to steamroll your Perfect Machine King. And that's just what he'll do." The Machine King raised one of its arms and shot it out like a rocket towards' the upgraded version of itself on Erik's field.

"Change of plans. I play the trap card Shift, redirecting your attack towards my only monster in defense mode." The rocket arm suddenly veered off, slamming into Bokoichi instead. (6/**3800-3700**/2000) M.K. (8/**3700-3200**/1500) P.M.K.

"Not a bad move. I'll throw down two more cards and call it a turn."

"I play Spellbook Inside the Pot, so we both draw three cards. Then I activate Battery Charger, to summon back one of the Batteryman monsters Needle Worm sent to my graveyard, and again, Spell Economics negates the life-point cost. Now let's all welcome Batteryman C." The blue and shiny gray battery monster appeared in a flash of electricity. (2/**0**/0) "And just for fun, I'll bring out the other two with Inferno Reckless Summon." Two additional copies of Batteryman C came into existence on either side of the first. (2/**0**/0) x2 "Now each of these guys give all machine type monsters I control gain 500 more attack points for every Batteryman C I have out. And at 1500 apiece, with the effect applied three times, that's 4500 extra points." A surge of electricity arced from each of the three Batterymen, giving Dekoichi and Perfect Machine King's attack points a big boost. (4/**900-5400**/1000) D.B.L (8/**3200-7700**/1500) P.M.K

"Whoa!" Jasmine exclaimed. "That's a lot of points."

"If you think that's bad, check out my face-down, DNA Surgery. And I think it goes without saying what monster type I'm picking for its effect." The three Battery monsters gained a metallic color. (2/**0-4500**/0) x3 BM.C (8/**7700-9200**/1500) P.M.K. (6/**3700-4000**/2000)

"Now that's just overkill," Sean commented.

Zane raised an eyebrow at this. "You had Sky Paladin at over 15000 attack points in your duel against Erik."

"Riiiiight…"

"Perfect Machine King, crush that walking hunk of metal." Several slots opened up in the imposing Machine's body, shooting out a mass of rockets.

"You know, too much of a good thing, isn't always the best for you. But right now, it's going to be good for me. I play Draining Shield, negating your monster's attack and giving my life-points a major boost." A green, translucent dome surrounded Erika, stopping the incoming rockets and causing her life-points to skyrocket, ironically enough.

Erika: 4000-13200

"Ooo, that sure came back to bite him," Alister commented.

"Erik still has four more monsters with over 4000 points each to attack with," Alexis pointed out.

"Okay, I'll admit, I might have been thinking a little too big," Erik said. "But Dekoichi still has more than enough points to knock off your Machine King. So full steam ahead." The purple locomotive charged at its target, running it over and crushing it flat.

Erika: 13200-11800

"I play my other face-down, Soul Rope. And by giving up 1000 life-points, I can summon a level four or below monster from my deck."

Erika: 11800-10800

"So I'll bring out Maverick Storm Owl in defense mode." The military, owl robot appeared on Erika's field, standing on one knee. (4/1800/**1300**) "When he's summoned, he returns a monster on the field to your hand, such as one of those troublesome batteries." Storm Owl flapped its wings, blowing a strong wind that forced a Batteryman C off the field. "And with one less, your other machines lose points." (8/**9200-5700**/1500) P.M.K. (4/**5400-2900**/1000) D.B.L (2/**4500-2000**/0) BM.C

"I'll just have my remaining Batterymen destroy Storm Owl and damage your life-points." The two Batteryman C's sent out a combined shockwave that destroyed the defending machine and went on to hit Erika.

Erika: 10800-8800

"With that out of the way, I'll re-summon Batteryman C." The third Battery monster re-appeared on the field. (2/**0-4500**/0) BM.C (2/**2000-4500**) x2 BM.C (4/**2900-5400**/1000) D.B.L. (8/**5700-8700**/1500) P.M.K. "Next I play Mechanical Surgery, increasing my life-points by 400 for every machine type monster I control."

Erik: 4000-6000

"Granted, it may not be as much as you got, but every bit helps. Anyway, I'll set this card face-down and turn things over to you."

"That was a good shot, Erik, I'll give you that much. But now it's time to take this duel to the next level. First, I play Pot of Greed, to draw an extra two cards. Then Junk Dealer, allowing me to bring back two monsters from the graveyard with half their attack points. I give you Maverick Penguin, and, making his second appearance this duel, Maverick Storm Owl." Storm Owl re-appeared, accompanied by a blue armored penguin robot with an orange tank attached to its back. (4/**1600-1300**/1000) (4/**1800-1400**/1300) "Thanks to Storm Owl's effect, I'll kick the big guy off the field." Storm Owl created a gust of wind that blew away Erik's most powerful monster. "And when Penguin is summoned, I can remove from play a card in your hand for three turns. So Perfect Machine King's going to have to sit back and chill for a while." Maverick Penguin aimed a shot of cold from its mouth at Erik's card, turning it into ice. "Now I sacrifice both my monsters to summon Maverick Vile." Both of Erika's monsters disappeared, making way for a humanoid, purple armored robot. It had large white feet and hands, wore a helmet that hid its entire head, leaving only a pair of glowing red eyes to be seen through the slits, and it had a cannon on its right shoulder. (7/**2500-3000**/2000)

"Sweet!" Sean exclaimed. "Vile's, like, the baddest Maverick in the series, right next to Sigma."

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Erik asked, though in a joking tone.

"Ah hem," Erika spoke up. "For his effect, when Vile hits the field, I can remove up to 6 Mavericks from my graveyard and destroy an equal number of spell and trap cards. So I'll remove Storm Owl, Penguin and Axel to destroy Spell Economics, DNA Surgery, and your face-down." Vile let out a barrage of laser fire from his cannon, destroying all of Erik's spell/trap cards, which caused the Batteryman C's to lose their metallic colors. (2/**4500-0**/0) x3

"You just set off my Jar of Avarice. When it's destroyed, I can shuffle five spell or trap cards into my deck and draw two cards."

"I'm afraid not, because Vile negates the effect of any card his own effect destroys. Furthermore, whenever a spell or trap is destroyed, I can lower his defense by 200 for each one, and increase his attack by the same amount." (7/**3000-3600**/2000-1400) "Finally, I'll equip one of your Batteryman C's with Soul Absorbing Chain." A pitch black chain sprung out of nowhere, wrapping itself around one of the battery monsters, effectively holding it in place. "This can only be equipped to a level four or below monster, and as long as it's out, that monster's effects are negated, as well as the effect of any monster with the same name." Another two sets of chains wrapped themselves around the other Batteryman C's, at which Dekoichi's attack points dropped way down. (4/**5400-900**/1000) "Now blast that freaky train to pieces." Vile charged up a shot in his cannon, letting out a large blast that wiped out the animated locomotive.

Erik: 6000-3300

"That's all for now."

"Wow, she's really good," Jasmine commented. "First she held off Erik's attacks while increasing her life-points by a lot, then she completely turned things around and gained control."

"That's Erika for you," Alister said with a proud smile.

"I wouldn't count him out yet," Zane spoke up. "If he can get the right card, Erik might be able to hold out until he can mount a comeback."

"Okay, not the worst situation I've even been in," Erik muttered as he drew. "Let's see… I switch all my monsters to defense mode and play Electromagnetic Shield." The three Battery monsters crouched down and were surrounded by an electric shield. (2/0/**0**) x3

"What does that do?" Jasmine inquired.

"As long as Erik doesn't have any monsters in attack mode, this prevents all level 3 or lower thunder type monsters from being destroyed in battle," Sean explained. "And since DNA Surgery's gone, his Batteryman are thunder type monsters again, which forms an impenetrable wall."

"Wow, you're pretty smart," the red headed Obelisk girl said.

"Uh… thanks," Sean replied, his cheeks just a little red.

"And cute too."

"Come on, Jas," Alexis spoke up, smiling in amusement. "If you keep this up, his head's going to turn red all over."

"He's even redder than a tomato," Alister noted.

"Shut up!" Sean squeaked, looking as if he was trying to hide his head into his blazer.

"Stalling for time, are we?" Erika said.

"When you're stuck like this, there's not much you can do."

"Well I'm sure you'll pick it up sooner or later. In the meantime, I'll summon Maverick Eagle." A tall, humanoid, eagle robot with a cannon arm appeared on the field. Its armor was mostly purple and blue, with gold talons, and a few other patches of gold on its body. (4/**1600-2100**/800)

"I set one card face-down and that's it."

"I summon Maverick Flame Stag." The next robot was orange, with blue and red armor, horns made of flame, and fire covering its fists. (4/**1500-2000**/400) "Then I'll play Different Dimension Capsule. So I remove a card from my deck and pick it up in two turns. Now you go."

"I place another card face-down. And since it's been three turns, Perfect Machine King comes back to my hand."

"I summon Maverick Beetle." A large, beetle robot with blue and purple armor, and a wicked looking horn materialized in the midst of Erika's swarm of machines. (4/**1400-1900**/1600) "Thanks to him, once per turn I can change the battle mode of a monster on your side of the field." A white aura surrounded the beetle robot, and was extended towards one of Erik's Batteryman C's, forcing it to stand up. (2/**0**/0) "Since your monsters are no longer all in defense mode, Electromagnetic Shield goes boom." Erik's spell card then shattered, causing Vile's points to change. (7/**3600-3800**/1400-1200) "And for good measure, I'll give up 300 life-points so that Maverick Eagle can attack twice."

Erika: 8800-8500

"Now I'll have Vile attack your Batteryman C that's in attack mode."

"Those face-downs better be good ones, or else he's done for," Zane noted.

"Sorry Erika, but I'm not done just yet. I play two copies of Half Shield. And since each reduces the damage I'd take by half, I'll only be taking a quarter of the damage I normally would." Two black and silver, heart shaped shields appeared before Erik, lessening the impact and damage of Vile's attack.

Erik: 3300-2350

"Refuses to give up, just like I know him," Alister remarked.

"Man, this is one sweet duel," Sean said.

"Yeah," Alexis agreed. "Even though Erik's at a disadvantage, both of them are really going at it card for card."

"Not bad, kiddo," Erika commented. "I figured you'd have a trick up your sleeve like this one. But here's a surprise, when Maverick Eagle destroys a monster in battle, it goes to the bottom of your deck instead of the graveyard. And since I gave him two attacks, he can take out your remaining monsters." The bird like robot flapped its wings, stirring up a whirlwind that zoomed across the field, destroying Erik's remaining Batteryman C's. "Also, Flame Stag can automatically attack twice each turn, at no cost whatsoever." The fiery machine dashed forward and punched Erik twice with its flaming fists.

Erik: 2350-1350

"And don't forget Maverick Beetle." The robot in question lowered its horn and charged at the brunette boy, slamming into him head on.

Erik: 1350-875

"Since I'm out of attacks, I guess I'll turn things over to you."

"It's all or nothing… I play Card of Demise to draw until I'm holding five cards." Erik drew until he had five cards, and smiled a little when he saw what he'd picked up. "Alright! I play Volcanic Summoning, sacrificing the Perfect Machine King in my hand in order to summon Magma Fighter – Dragoon." A pillar of flames rose in front of the Obelisk boy, from which the red and white dragonic robot emerged, standing on its two feet in a fighting stance. (8/**3000**/2500) "Then I'll throw in the spell Maverick Rampage. Now one monster with 'Maverick' in its name, or Dragoon that I control can attack all the monsters you have out on the field this turn."

"But even if he can attack all her monsters, Vile still has more attack points," Jasmine pointed out.

"But Dragoon has a powerful special ability," Zane spoke up.

"That's right," Erik said. "Dragoon gains 500 attack points during the battle phase for each monster on my opponent's side of the field." (8/**3000-5000**/2500) "So go nuts and wipe her field clean, starting with Maverick Vile." Dragoon then reared his head back and spat out a torrent of flames, incinerating the purple armored maverick.

Erika: 8500-7300

(8/**5000-4500**/2500) The fiery machine then ignited its fists and leapt at Maverick Eagle, destroying it with a single punch.

Erika: 7300-4900

(8/**4500-4000**/2500) As soon as its target was finished, Dragoon leapt into the air and fell down on Flame Stag, crushing it with a powerful kick.

Erika: 4900-2900

(8/**4000-3500**/2500) He then pulled back an arm and dashed at Maverick Beetle, punching its head right off.

Erika: 2900-1300

(8/**3500-3000**/2500) "That ends my turn. Now that's a comeback, wouldn't you agree?"

"You bet. Almost as impressive as the one I'm going to put up soon. First, because of Card of Demise's side effect, I have to get rid of everything I'm holding right now. But thanks to Different Dimension Capsule, I get to add the card I set aside two turns ago. And that card was Maverick Peacock, which I'll bring out in defense mode." A humanoid, bi-pedal peacock with a green tail, along with blue, purple and gold armor appeared on the field, kneeling down. (4/1900-2400/**1000**) "Your move."

"Dragoon, destroy her Maverick Peacock." Erik's powerhouse monster dashed forward and put its fist through the enemy robot's torso. (8/**3000-3500**/2500)

"Thanks for doing that. When Peacock's destroyed in battle, you have to skip your next two battle phases."

"Okay. I end my turn." (8/**3500-3000**/2500)

'This'll come in handy,' Erika said as she drew her next card. 'But I'll have to wait a while before I can play it. "I'll do nothing this turn."

"I play Soul Release to remove Maverick Vile, Eagle, Stag, Beetle and Peacock from your graveyard." Erika grabbed the five monsters that came out of her graveyard and pocketed them. "That's all."

"I draw… and pass once again."

"I'll just place this face-down, and let peacock's effect expire."

"Alright, the moment of truth," Alister said, rubbing his hands in anticipation. "Let's see if Erika can turn things around."

"My turn, and let's hope I get something good… I play Mining for Magical Stones, sending the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard to pick up my Pot of Greed, which I'll play again. Then I summon Maverick Metal Shark." A dark blue armored hammerhead shark stood up on two legs, holding an anchor and chain in one hand. (4/**1700-2200**/1400) "Now I'll activate his special ability. By sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, I can summon a monster from your graveyard and treat it as a machine, even though most of your monsters already are."

"She must be going after Perfect Machine King," Jasmine guessed.

"Nope, I'm going after a different one." Metal Shark threw its anchor at a pool of light that had appeared in the center of the field, reeling in a large, green and yellow spider robot. (5/**2000-2500**/2500)

"When did that thing end up in the graveyard?" the red head Obelisk girl wondered.

"That's Maverick Spider, and it went to the grave because of Needle Worm's effect," Erik explained.

"And when he's summoned, I can pick a monster you have out, and drain 100 attack points for each level it has." The metal spider spat out a strand of web at Erik's monster, draining some of its power. (8/**3000-2200**/2500)

"Now I play Monster Reborn, to bring back your Flame Stag that Needle Worm sent packing earlier." The fiery, stag like monster in question rose up on Erik's field. (4/**1500-20****00**/400)

"She just brought out three monsters that can't even scratch Dragoon, especially considering its special ability," Sean stated. "What gives?"

"She must be planning to sacrifice them somehow," Zane said. "But what monster could she-"

"You're planning to summon the boss," Erik deduced. "The worst maverick of them all, the one who gives X and Zero so much trouble."

Erika chuckled a little at this. "Got that right. I sacrifice Maverick Flame Stag, Maverick Metal Shark, and Maverick Spider in order to summon… Maverick Virus Sigma." The three mavericks suddenly transformed into dark green light, which combined together, taking a human like form. When the light faded away, a bald humanoid robot was standing before Erika. He wore a black body suit, was clad in white armor with a purple cape on his back, had a sinister grin on his face and a red crystal on his forehead. (10/**2700**/2200)

"That is one bad looking robot," Alexis commented.

"Not just that, but a tough one to boot," Alister pitched in. "Erik's in for it now."

"Now, when Sigma's special summoned, he automatically gets a 300 point boost, plus there's the 500 from Clockwork Night." (10/**2700-3500**/2200) "Destroy Magma Dragoon." (8/**2200-2700**/2500) The maverick leader cast aside his cape, then charged up a ball of blue energy in each hand, launching them at Erik's monster.

"I play my face-down, Mirror Force. So Sigma's attack goes right back at him." The two balls of energy crashed against a transparent barrier and shot back towards Sigma, exploding in a way that made him fall to pieces.

"So much for her big bad monster," Jasmine said.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sean spoke up. "He has a nasty habit of coming back."

Erika chuckled at this. "Sorry Erik, but you should know that despite everything the Maverick Hunters throw at him, Sigma never stays down for long. You see, when he's destroyed by an effect, Sigma immediately returns to the field." Sigma's parts floated up off the arena floor, re-assembling each other until the android was complete again. (10/**3500-3800**/2200) "And of course, since he was just special summoned again, he gains 300 more attack points, which gives him enough power to end this duel." The maverick leader charged up another ball of blue energy and released it at Dragoon, destroying him and taking out the rest of Erik's life-points.

Erik: 875-0

"Sweet duel," Erika said to her opponent as they shut off their duel disks. "Glad to see your skills are as sharp as ever."

"I was sure I had you there," Erik admitted. "Kind of disappointed I didn't get the chance to summon any more mavericks, but I'm sure I'll get the chance eventually."

The spectators all came down to congratulate the two of them on their performance. "Way to go, kid," Alister said, clapping Erik on the back.

"Nice moves," Sean added. "Going against a pro duelist like her and coming this close to beating her… that was awesome!"

"Good duel," Zane commented.

"Thanks, guys."

"Well, I hate to break up the moment, but I think it's just about time for us to leave," Erika declared.

"It was fun to hang out with you guys," Alister said. "Even if it was only for a short while."

"You should come back another time," Erik suggested.

"Definitely," Erika said. "We'll have to make sure to have ourselves a re-match."

"I'll be waiting. And you can bet things won't go down the same way next time."

* * *

Erik and his friends stood on the helicopter pad, watching Alister and Erika being flown away. "Well, this was a fun day," Alexis remarked.

"Yeah, it was," Erik agreed.

"And from what Alister said, we might be able to find out where The Admiral took Jaden," Sean pitched in.

"We'll just have to hope Brian is as good with computers as he says he is," Zane pointed out.

"In the meantime, I guess the only thing we can do is go about like normal and wait for them to figure it out," the blond Obelisk girl said. The five of them then left the helicopter pad behind, with Erik and Sean going their own way.

"So, think tomorrow will be as fun?" Sean asked his friend as they walked down the hallway.

"Dunno. Guess we'll just have to wait to find out." The blond Obelisk boy then noticed two transparent humanoid figures floating behind Erik. One was a relatively simple looking light blue robot with darker blue armor and a helmet that had a red crystal in the center. The other wore a black body suit with red armor, had a long mane of blond hair, a red and white helmet that had little pointed ends on the sides and a blue crystal in the center. Sean remained quiet and said nothing about this, and simply smiled instead.

* * *

So, as usual, I hope you liked it, and if you would please review to tell me what you thought, then that'd be cool.

On another note, I will be taking a break from this story to take up my Fire Emblem fic again, so the next update won't be for a couple months.

**Cards made up in this chapter:**

**Maverick Penguin**

Attribute: Water

Type: Machine/Ice

Level: 4

ATK: 1600

DEF: 1000

Effect: When summoned, you can select one card in your opponent's hand and remove it from for three turns. That card cannot be removed from your removed from play cards by any effect until the three turns are finished.

**Maverick Spider**

Type: Machine

Attribute: Light

Level: 5

Attack: 2000

Defense: 2500

Effect: Once summoned select one monster on your opponent's side of the field and decrease its ATK by 100 times the stars of the monster.

**Maverick Eagle**  
Type: Machine  
Attribute: Wind  
Level: 4  
ATK: 1600  
DEF: 800  
Effect: This card can attack twice at the cost of 300 life-points. Any monster that this card destroys in battle is returned to the bottom of the player's deck.

**Maverick Stag**  
Type: Machine  
Attribute: Fire  
Level: 4  
ATK: 1500  
DEF: 400  
Effect: This card can attack twice in one turn.

**Maverick Beetle**  
Type: Machine  
Attribute: Wind  
Level: 4  
ATK: 1400  
DEF: 1600  
Effect: Once per turn, choose a monster and change its position.

**Maverick Peacock**  
Type: Machine  
Attribute: Machine  
Level: 4  
ATK: 1900  
DEF: 1000  
Effect: If this card is destroyed in battle, your opponent must skip their next two battle phases.

**Maverick Metal Shark**

Attribute: Dark

Type: Machine

Level: 4

ATK: 1700

DEF: 1400

Effect: By sending one card from your hand to the graveyard, you can summon one monster from your opponent's graveyard and treat it as a Machine. Once destroyed, send any monster summoned by this effect to the graveyard.

(The top seven cards were made up by RoyalShotstopper XIII)

**Maverick Virus Sigma**

ATK: 2700

DEF: 2200

DARK  
Machine/Effect  
Level 10  
Effect: This card cannot be normal summoned or set. This card can only be special summoned by its own effect, or by tributing three 'Maverick' monsters you control. When this card is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the graveyard, it is immediately summoned to your side of the field. When this card is special summoned, it gains 300 attack points.  
Image: Sigma's first form in Megaman X 5

**Maverick Vile**

Type: Machine

Attribute: Dark

Level: 7

Attack: 2500

Defense: 2000

Effect: When this card is summoned, you can remove any number of 'Maverick' monsters from your graveyard (Max. 6), to destroy an equal number of spell/trap cards (negate the effect of any spell/trap destroyed by this effect). Whenever a spell/trap card is destroyed, decrease this card's defense points by 200 (for each one) and increase its attack points by the same amount.

**Maverick Rampage**

Normal Spell

Effect: Select one monster with 'Maverick' in its name, or one 'Magma Fighter – Dragoon' that you control. This turn, only that monster may attack, but it can attack all the monsters on your opponent's field.

Image: A horde of Mavericks tearing through a skyscraper.

**Soul Absorbing Chain**  
Equip Spell  
Effect: Equip only to a level 4 or below monster. Negate the effect of the equipped monster, as well as any monster on the field with the same name.  
Image: A pitch black chain bursting out from the ground in a graveyard, wrapping itself around an Unhappy Maiden.

(The top four cards were made up by me; inspiration for all the Mavericks comes from the Megaman X series, which belongs to Capcom)

**Next Chapter:** Now that Sean's back on his feet, it's time to see if being a Shadow Rider has weathered his dueling skills.


End file.
